The Heir
by NoxEtLucem
Summary: Uchiha Sasuke was lucky but never happy. When he wakes up blind after being severely injured, it becomes even more difficult to like life. Maybe his shy caretaker, Hinata, can help him out. Slightly AU.
1. The Good Samaritan

**Summary:** His dying body. Her only weakness. How could she say no? Slightly AU. Eventual SasuHina.

**A/n:** Hey everybody! It's Enpitsu here, back with another Naruto fic! My first one was called Imperfect, and it had to do with White Day. The coupling in this one will be...how shall I say...a little different. But please give it a chance! Haha, thanks!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. No way could my mind even conjure up half of those hot ninjas.

**The Heir  
**Chapter One  
The Good Samaritan

He could barely lift his head anymore. Rain washed his blood into his eyes and onto the concrete but he made no attempt to wipe it away. The beating he took earlier had made his limbs immobile and even blinking was difficult. His chest heaved with his breathing and once again he hacked a cough full of blood.

He was the last known remaining heir to the Uchiha clan. Either no one knew or no one gave a damn.

The young man cursed every person who spared a glance but couldn't spare time to help a dying guy. Here he was, literally taking his last breaths and no one had enough heart to assist him. Truth be told though, he wouldn't blame them – he wasn't sure if he would help either.

Sasuke's mind wandered back to the events that brought him here; in the gutters of Konoha. With a vain attempt to scowl in anger, he scowled in pain.

Uchiha Sasuke had been the younger of two brothers–the other half being Uchiha Itachi. Their family was the richest but lacked members because a genetic disease which wiped out the clan. The two lived luxurious lives though they stayed apart. Sasuke didn't care about Itachi and it was the same with the elder.

The younger one had always seemed to under-appreciate his life. Spending money but living as an empty shell was a daily routine for him. He cursed himself sometimes, wondering why he was never truly happy. What else was there to life anyway?

And earlier tonight, it was all taken away in one fast sweep. Sasuke lost his money, life, and pride.

"_Sasuke, get your ass up," a sharp voice ordered, kicking the young man in the side. The shinobi sputtered blood and got to his feet, refusing to go with out a fight._

_Four figures stood around him, all laughing at his pain. For an instant, he wondered where Itachi was and what they did with him. But that thought didn't last as he made a feeble attempt to dodge a kunai. Sasuke fell to the floor again and as he started to stand up, one of the figures rested their foot between his shoulder blades._

"_Little boy, you need to grow up. We haven't broken a sweat and you're on the floor bleeding profusely," an oily voice purred. Sasuke grunted in an attempt to get back on his feet._

"_Now that you and Itachi-kun are out of the picture, we're free to do whatever we want with your fortune," a female's voice said, breaking into the conversation. Sasuke shut his eyes in pain but refused to utter a sound._

_The four battered him around for a bit more before they became truly bored. The coldest and quietest of the quartet stepped up to address him. Sasuke looked up through his bangs and saw something sticking out of a shoulder._

"_Let's see how his bones sound." Someone else had spoken first and received a silencing glare from the cold one. The latter looked down upon the young man though, and smirked._

_Sasuke's chokes were muffled as his face suddenly met the floor. His arms were held back behind him and he immediately knew what they would do. And so, with sickening sound effects, his arms were rendered useless._

_The Uchiha fell to the floor like a limp doll. His breathing was very shallow as the others watched in amusement as he fought for his life. A few whispers were exchanged and they agreed._

"_Let's leave Sasuke-chan in the gutter. We'll show him how much everyone cares for the great Uchiha clan," the woman said, laughing lightly._

Obviously that last remark was meant to be sarcastic because no one cared. Sasuke almost laughed at his predicament. Maybe it was better to die in the gutter than in debt to some stranger.

His onyx eyes watched her as she stopped and looked down at him. _Just another person to walk by, huh? _But she didn't walk by. All she did was stand there and it served to piss him off at the world even more. There was nothing he could do to keep her creepy, white eyes from staring at him.

Worse of all, she was looking at him with pity. And pity was something he didn't want. Sympathy, he could take. But pity was something he'd take and shove it up the giver's ass.

Sasuke's breathing became even more difficult for him to bear. He lowered his eyes again as he welcomed his final moments. He just wanted it to end; wanted it all to go away.

The girl bent down in front of him and he felt the warm rain stop. Sasuke looked back up at her and saw that she was reaching a hand out for him.

The last the he saw before completely blacking out was her white eyes shedding tears for him.

* * *

Hyuga Hinata fumbled with the hem of her shirt. Her thick jacket was resting on a chair and drying next to a fire. It seemed to rain constantly the last few days. She didn't want to rest her eyes on the sleeping figure so she let her eyes go to her black pants. Her eyes wandered to the young man again though. It's not like she was infatuated with him, it was just that he looked so familiar but she couldn't place her finger on it.

The man had the darkest hair she had ever seen though his skin contrasted greatly. He had the facial features of someone who grew up in wealthy living: high cheekbones and a strong jaw. The firelight cast funny shadows onto his face – Hinata didn't want to wake him with the light.

Haruna Sakura, the doctor she had called, had told the Hyuga to restrain the man to bed for a few days. Sakura had a pretty good reputation around Konoha so Hinata didn't want to contradict her.

Hinata wouldn't have done so if she wanted to anyway. The man's arms were broken and a numerous amount of cuts and bruises adorned his body. He had also lost a lot of blood so maybe that's why he was really pale.

Despite the inspection, they still weren't sure who the guy was. His nose was broken, his eyes were swollen, and his lips were cut. Along with the shiners on each of his cheeks, his face seemed blown up. The man had no identification on him and where his family crest should be on his shirt, was ripped off.

Hinata had no idea why she took the guy in. Obviously, it was the right thing to do but she had no idea what he would do to her when he awoke. But she watched as everyone before her just passed him by and didn't give a second glance. When she stopped to look at him, his eyes showed contempt. Though that part of him was stubborn, the rest of him was weak.

Even when she was little, Hinata could not stand anyone being hurt. She had her own past involving pain, and knew what it was like. She knew what it was like to ask for help and never get it. She was weak at the sight of someone who was helpless like she used to be.

Against the want of his eyes, Hinata bent down to shield the young man from the rain. Despite all the strange looks she was getting, she reached out a hand to the man who fell unconscious.

Hinata sighed and fell from her straight posture. The young man still wasn't awake–it had been three days since she found him. The Hyuga scratched her head in distress.

Someone entered the room and Hinata turned around to face the newcomer. He had the same features as her: light eyes; violet hair. "Hello, Neji-nii-san."

"Hinata-sama." Neji nodded at her and started to stare at the lying figure. "So this is the filthy pup."

Hinata's eyes widened slightly and she turned to look at Neji's countenance. Slight disgust shown in his eyes and Hinata was a little afraid to speak up. "Neji-nii, he's...not a filthy pup..."

"But you took him in like one, didn't you? It was his fate to die that night but you went ahead and messed with destiny," the older one admonished. Hinata tore her gaze away from him and looked down at her lap once more.

Neji was quiet as he came over and put a hand on her head. Hinata made no obnoxious indication she felt it.

"Your heart is too kind sometimes, Hinata-sama," he said to her. He went to the doorway again and stopped before he exited. "If that dog wakes up and has rabies, I'll put it to sleep myself."

Hinata sighed as the door opened and closed. She knew what he meant. If the guy woke up and was evil and/or attacked her, he would die. Leave it to her cousin to be so mystical and distrusting.

The Hyuga girl loved her cousin, but sometimes she felt like he was only doing his job a bodyguard. Neji always seemed to just show a type of grudging familiarity towards her, but it was better than what her previous house-mates showed.

Uchiha Sasuke grimaced in his sleep but Hinata didn't seem to notice as she got up from her chair, stretching slightly. The girl blew out a breath and scratched her head. A little snack from the kitchen wouldn't hurt, would it? So Hinata grabbed her jacket and strode out of the room but not before one last glance at the still form on the bed.

Sasuke groaned after the heavy door closed. Why did his body hurt so much? Then reality came crashing back into his body–he had been jumped. _Damn, I'm sore everywhere._

The young man realized he was lying in a bed. How that could be, he didn't know, because he was out on the street the last he remembered. Sasuke groaned again, eyes still closed. He had to get out of his state.

The Uchiha opened his eyelids but saw nothing. Sasuke blinked again and saw the same effect. _Oh, hell no._ The boy was blind.

Sasuke cursed everything in the world–except for the girl who saved him. He went just a little lighter on her. He sat up but refused to look like an idiot, waving his hands around. Sasuke refused to look weak again.

The man shifted and his toes touched the cold, wooden floor. He almost retracted–almost. Sasuke got up and started walking around, trying to use his senses to find his way around the strange environment.

From the sounds he could tell there was a fire going. And from touching he could tell there was a stupid chair that made him stumble. Sasuke decided he didn't care anymore, and reached out in front of him. He really had no idea where he was going.

Finally, he reached the doorknob. The man was slightly wary as to what lay behind it. Sasuke almost slapped himself–he was being like a girl in a scary movie! He snorted. _It's only the person who sleeps around that gets killed, anyway... Oh, shit._

Pushing this thought out of his mind, he concentrated on the cold metal under his palm. He realized that he really didn't know where he was. He had no idea if he was in a mansion, shack, or haunted house. But Sasuke used his deductive reasoning that the house wouldn't be too bad.

Eventually, Sasuke opened the door. He found it to be heavier than he thought–his muscles screamed to rest. But even with his injuries, the man ventured out into the hall. He felt a carpet runner under his toes but that was pretty much it.

He had to get out of this place, though. He didn't know what kind of sadistic bastard was living here, but Sasuke didn't want to find out.

* * *

"Hinata-sama! Your patient is fighting the guards!" a voice called, echoing through the place. Hinata's pale eyes widened in shock.

"He's doing what!" she exclaimed, running to where the voice came from.

Hinata met the servant in time and walked in step with him. "It seems that he woke up while you were away and got out of his room. And there's also something else you should know. He's bl–!"

The voice was cut short as the body of a guard came flying at them. Hinata squeaked in surprise and evaded in the nick of time. The servant and she gaped at the body and turned to the fight.

Sasuke was doing a particularly good for someone who had been struck blind. True, he wasn't landing as many hits as he should've but it was more than a normal blind guy could've done. Some of his wounds were reopening though but it didn't seem like he'd stop for any regular person.

"Mato, what's wrong with him?" Hinata demanded, slightly afraid. She was glad Neji went out, or else the dog would be down in a second.

"He's blind, Hinata-sama!" Mato replied. The girl gave him a small, disbelieving look. "I swear! He hasn't been able to see one of his opponents."

"Then he must be a shinobi...," Hinata whispered in awe, but mostly to herself. The girl got up to take action. "Guards! Please stop! I'll handle it."

_Hopefully,_ she added mentally.

The guards pulled back as soon as the heard the lady's voice and left the heaving Uchiha in the middle of the hall. Hinata nervously approached him, hand out like she was talking to a doe.

"Um, excuse me. Please don't do anything harsh...," Hinata pleaded, trailing off slightly. She wasn't trained in any type of fighting style–how could she go up against a shinobi?

Sasuke turned his head sharply to face the direction where Hinata's voice was coming from. His eyes were closed but Hinata could finally tell he was really blind. The girl couldn't help but feel sorry for him–he seemed like an animal in a corner.

Sasuke recognized the voice as a female's, so he didn't attempt to kill her. No matter what, he would never kill women or children. His mother made had sure of that. Instead he stood still, his breathing some what feral. "Where am I?"

Hinata couldn't help but wince at his harsh tone. Indeed, this guy was on the edge. "Um, I found you on the streets...and I took you in."

The man was silent as he regarded the information. Hinata noticed that his eyes were drawn to the floor in contemplation.

"Um, if you just let me, um, explain things everything will be all right," Hinata said, trying to assuage the dark beast. Sasuke nodded after a while.

Hinata moved to take his arm but Sasuke snatched himself away. The girl hopped back a little, a hurt look hidden behind her eyes. Hinata understood though, and let him be. This guy seemed like a strong person but his pride had just been struck blunt. He was blind and he was beat up–there's nothing worse than that.

The girl hummed a quiet song as she started walking, and Sasuke took that as a queue to follow her. Hinata didn't trail too far in front of him and she constantly turned around to make sure he didn't bump into any welcoming walls.

Sasuke grit his teeth. _I must look like some weakling. I was so lucky and now I'm following this girl like a dog to a whistle._

The Uchiha let out a silent sigh of gratitude as his derriere fell onto the bed he was in before. The fire had mellowed out a bit but the room still retained a homey warmth. He heard the girl shuffle about and sit in the chair across from him. The two were silent as Hinata tried to go about telling him things.

"Why did you do it? Everyone walked by except for you," Instead of the girl talking, it was Sasuke who was taking action. Hinata jumped a little.

"Um, I...don't know. But you were hurt and I can't stand it when someone's in a state like you were in," she replied, giving a vague answer about her own past. Sasuke coughed a little, which brought sharp pain to his sides.

"But if you want, you can leave as soon as you're better," Hinata quickly continued, trying to sound upbeat. "I'm not making you stay."

"What does it matter? I'm blind anyway," Sasuke said, a bitter mood settling over him. Hinata slumped a bit when an important piece of information came to her mind.

"Ah, I'm Hyuga Hinata," she said nicely. The girl's smile faltered only slightly when she sadly recalled that he couldn't see it.

_Hyuga, huh? That's one of the most powerful families around. Second only to what the Uchiha used to be,_ Sasuke thought. He stayed silent though, since the girl never really asked him what he was called.

"What's your name?" Speak of the devil.

"...Sasuke," he said lowly. "My name's Uchiha Sasuke."

Hinata's eyes widened as she realized who he was. He was one of the heirs to what was the most prominent family ever. If he was on the streets and beat up, what kind of crazy-powerful people would be able to do that?

"Hinata-sama!" a voice called out. Two heads turned towards the doorway to find none other than Hyuga Neji.

And he did not look at all pleased.

**Author's Note:**

Thank you very much for reading! As you will come to find, shinobi in this fic are very rare. They're like the Navy S.E.A.L.S of our time–a special unit of fighters. Yeah, well, I'll elaborate more in the story...eventually. As for coupling, you will find some that most likely haven't been done yet.

Anyways, thanks again! Please don't forget to review!


	2. A Dog Gone Shame

A/n: Thanks for the reviews, you guys! Even though I didn't receive that many, I still appreciate them greatly. And a shout-out goes to Kaori no Tenshi who gave the longest reviews I've ever gotten! Lol, thanks! Hopefully I get some more reviews, huh guys? (hint hint) Haha, just kidding!

**Disclaimer:** No, I don't own Naruto. If I did, I have a few ideas of what I'd do with a few certain ninjas.

The Heir  
Chapter Two  
A Dog-Gone Shame

_An exceptional_ _beauty smiled at him as she handed him a tall glass of champagne. Sasuke took it somewhat gratefully in his hands and drank from it, letting it slowly slide down his throat. It was another social party and once again, the Uchiha that wasn't too elusive was invited._

_The girl threw her head back as she gave a laugh, which showed her own pearly whites. Why couldn't Sasuke be happy? He didn't even know himself. He was a rich bachelor with countless young women falling at his feet. Why wouldn't they want the blood of the great Uchiha's flowing through their children? Even so, he wouldn't grant any of the gold-diggers the real honor–the young man was always, always, careful._

_None of these socialites meant anything to him though, and neither did any functions. The public appearances were starting to grate on his nerves and he was beginning to understand why Itachi had eluded the public. Off-handedly, Sasuke wondered what really did matter to him. He lost all of what was important a long time ago._

_The heir leaned back on the bed and watched as the girl crawled her way up to him. His eyes were indifferent though, as she planted a kiss on his lips._

"_Uchiha?" she asked sweetly, smiling against his ear. Said youth 'humph'-ed in response._

_His last name was only said once but it echoed in his mind, it grew deeper though. It soon turned demanding and into the baritone of a man._

_Sasuke's vision darkened from the pretty blonde and morphed into complete darkness._

The young man snapped back to his black reality as his memory came back to him. Oh yeah, he was in a huge mansion of a rich family and the guy who had burst in was probably the evil, sadistic bastard of the house.

On the inside, Hinata winced. She had thought Neji would be gone for at least a half-hour more but she was wrong. Obviously, the white-eyed shinobi was unhappy about the commotion that took place in the front hall. "Neji-nii, please don't be mad at–."

"Hinata, maybe you should wait outside." Neji's voice was clipped and he didn't even use the attachment. The girl was teetering, unsure of what to do.

Sasuke was silent as Hinata started to sway the beast. _So, this must be the famous Hyuga Neji. He's supposed to be a genius within the SHINOBI._ Too bad Sasuke wasn't in the best shape. He would have liked to have a friendly spar with the enigmatic guy.

Suddenly, Sasuke was lifted up off the bed by a strong fist gripping his collar. Pain coursed through the Uchiha's body but he ignored it to put up a strong facade. There was no way he was going to get pity from the maniac holding him up.

From Neji's body heat and the breath he felt on his face, Sasuke could tell that the other man's face was right up against his. Hinata grabbed her cousin's shoulder. "Neji-nii, he's–!"

"Blind," the older Hyuga stated. As Hinata poked her fingers, she nodded meekly. Sasuke wondered what reaction he would get. "Are you really blind?"

"Don't be stupid. Why the hell would I pretend I'm blind?" Sasuke shot back. Neji snorted and looked the guy over again.

"If you ever try anything that idiotic in my house again, I will personally terminate you," Neji said lowly. "I'll give you leeway just once since it's obviously your first time being blind and being in this house. And for some reason, Hinata-sama seems to want to take care or protect you."

While Neji was professing these words, he wasn't looking at the young man in front of him. His gaze lay on Hinata, who was shifting a little uncomfortably. She caught the concise look aimed at her perfectly.

The Hyuga male dropped the Uchiha unceremoniously onto the bed. Sasuke's bones creaked under the pressure of the fall but the man just grit his teeth–which brought some more pain. He heard Hinata squeak quietly in protest and shuffle over to him. There was no sound from Hyuga Neji, as he seemed to walk out.

Before Neji exited however, he threw a stern look Hinata's way. The girl looked down at Sasuke though, because she knew that her cousin would talk with her later. As the door closed, she let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

Sasuke lay stiff on the mattress with his eyelids shut. Hinata sat on the bed and turned to look at her patient. Her gaze was soft as she observed his placid state. "I'm sorry, Uchiha-san. Neji-nii isn't normally so...vicious."

Sasuke smirked slightly, though the action hurt his cut and bruised lips. "That's not what I heard from those who have fought him."

Hinata's countenance changed from mellow to surprised. It was the first inference Sasuke had made about his own past. The girl smiled sweetly, but this time it didn't even falter.

"Well, I think that's just when he's fighting. That's something he's very passionate about," the girl said, looking at her hands which rested on her lap.

Sasuke sighed, letting out a stubborn breath. He was feeling very floaty all of a sudden–he was indifferent and nonchalant to everything around him. Maybe he was at the point where he didn't really care anymore. What was next anyway?

Hinata noted his odd countenance and shifted slightly. Finally, she saw his reopened wounds and gasped.

"Uchiha-san! Please, wait here! I have to get Sakura-san!" And with that, the girl dashed from the room.

Sasuke coughed as he began to feel light-headed. Great, he was losing more blood. He groaned and attempted to sit up but couldn't lift his body anymore. As he cursed being weak, the young man drifted in and out of consciousness.

* * *

"His injuries haven't gotten worse, luckily. And he hasn't sustained any new ones from his most recent brawl," Haruno Sakura said, resting the stethoscope around her neck. Hinata let out a breath of relief as she out a hand to her chest.

"Oh, that's good," she said breathlessly. Sakura smiled at the shy girl as the assistant nurse put away the tools.

"He should stay in bed for a while, at least until he's not hurting too bad with every step he attempts. I also recommend therapy when he's a little more healed and used to being blind." Sakura handed Hinata a piece of paper that had words scrawled over it.

"Yamanaka's Pet Paradise?" Hinata questioned. The young doctor laughed a little sheepishly.

"The name sounds funny, I know, but animal therapy can be good for people," Sakura explained reasonably.

"Oh, yeah? I know a few female dogs that I could introduce him to," the doctor's assistant remarked, looking pointedly at his superior. Hinata's eyes widened at the suggestive remark while Sakura full on glared.

"Naruto, shut up! I'll shove a bone up yours!" she shouted, throwing a scalpel at the blonde-haired nurse.

"If I didn't know better I'd think you were a part of SHINOBI in disguise!" Naruto yelled, dodging the sharp object as it imbedded itself in the wall. An amused grin adorned his face before he stuck his tongue out at her. "But that big forehead of yours would just get in the way!"

"You jerk!"

Hinata laughed as she watched the two exchange verbal kunai. Her eyes traveled to the bed where Sasuke lay in a drug-induced sleep. She still wasn't so sure why she decided to take him off of the streets. Sure, she could have gave him money or called the police but she TOOK HIM OFF THE STREETS.

"Sorry, Hinata-chan! We'll leave now," Naruto said, a small cut on his cheek. Hinata smiled at him as he grinned and waved good-bye. Even down the hall, the girl could still hear the doctor and nurse bickering.

The pale-eyed girl blushed prettily as she realized who had just been in her house. Uzumaki Naruto was in her presence once again. She always tried to hide her blush around the blonde-haired, blue-eyed masterpiece but most of the time she failed miserably.

Hinata sighed and roamed her gaze over to Sasuke. The young man really looked pathetic, and she wondered what the criminals that did this were doing now.

* * *

"Orochimaru-sama, the Uchiha is now out of commission. Which clan is the next target?" A calm voice asked. A cloaked man sat in front of the four assassins, which crouched on the floor in reverence. Serpentine eyes regarded them with a bored gaze.

"The next clan will be harder. There are much more members than the two of the Uchiha," Orochimaru said. Though his body language was noble, his voice betrayed that fact.

"The Hyuga?" a cool voice questioned. Orochimaru nodded his head, a small smile sadistically placed on his lips.

"It'll be fun to play with the little ants," another one stated, flexing his many arms. A woman scoffed.

"Shut the hell up, you overeager bastard."

"A young woman should be saying things like that, you know?" a man said, shifting his gaze to a certain flute wielder.

"I'll shove this flute up your ass if you don't–!"

"Quiet," Orochimaru suddenly ordered. He put a bandaged hand to his forehead. "I have a headache so go and prepare your conquest of the powerful clans."

The four looked at each other before springing up and out of sight. Where they went, no one could see, since the room was so dimly lit they could only tell their whereabouts from chakra. Orochimaru chuckled manically though. In no time, all power would be his again.

* * *

Sasuke winced as the hot liquid trailed down his throat. Damn, that soup was hot but he wasn't going to complain. A girl he didn't even know was taking care of him. That's more than he could've said about his own brother.

Another two days had passed and he had been in another comatose state. Sasuke's body was feeling better and he was glad–he was hoping to leave soon enough. He nodded, indicating he was ready to take another slurp.

Hinata held out the, hopefully, cool soup to Sasuke. She held her hand steady as Sasuke's mouth encircled the metal. She dipped the spoon in the bowl and started to blow on the surface again. She hoped it wasn't too hot.

"Hinata-chan!" A feral voice called throughout the mansion. The girl smiled though–it was her good friend, Kiba, coming to visit.

Sasuke's door burst open, revealing the Inuzuka youth. Well, he wasn't really a youth per say–more like a young man. His mahogany eyes naturally lit up when he saw her, and he grinned, revealing his 'harmless' canines.

"Hello, Kiba-kun. It's nice of you to visit." Truth be told, the two had known each other forever but Dog-boy had developed more advanced feelings towards the pale-eyed girl. And even though the guy she was taking care of was blind, Kiba wouldn't take any chances.

"Uchiha-san, Kiba-kun is here. He's one of my best friends."

Sasuke grunted a response to her. Truth be told, he didn't really care what that Kaiba-guy was doing here. But to show his gratitude to Hinata, he muttered a greeting.

"I guess his personality got messed up when he got jumped, too, huh?" Kiba grumbled. Hinata tried to calm the dog-user down.

"Please, Kiba-kun, allow him some leeway." The Inuzuka sighed. If Hinata wanted, she could make him jump off a bridge. Of course, only Kiba knew this fact.

A canine bounded over the Hyuga and barked cheerfully. Hinata smiled and fed Sasuke another bite, before setting the bowl down to have the dog settle onto her lap. "Hi, Akamaru! Nice to see you too!"

Kiba watched silently. Sometimes he wished he was the dog and Akamaru was the master. If it meant being able to do that, he was more than willing to trade places.

"Kiba-kun, did you already talk to Akamaru about the thing I requested?" Hinata asked, looking at the guy sweetly. The Inuzuka sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, yeah. I told him about it...and he agreed," he mumbled. The Hyuga smiled brightly at him and Kiba thought he'd die.

"Oh, thank you so much, Kiba-kun!" the girl exclaimed jovially. Akamaru barked at her eagerly.

Sasuke's bruised eyebrow twitched slightly. _What in the hell are they babbling about? _Little did he know, his question was about to be answered.

"Uchiha-san, since you're going to be walking soon, I took some safety precautions," Hinata started. She set Akamaru on the foot of the bed that Sasuke was resting on. "I may not be with you at all times, so when you're good enough to go off on your own, Akamaru will go with you."

Sasuke sighed and turned his head to where he heard the happy dog. The young man sneered inside slightly. Suddenly the dog energetically jumped in Sasuke's lap, hurting more places than just his thighs. And Akamaru didn't weigh as little as he did when they were twelve. The young man let out a sound of slight pain–though in actuality, he imagined this pain was worse than a thousand years of death.

Hinata gasped in surprise while Kiba burst out laughing. He didn't have to much against Sasuke personally, except for the fact he was moving in on Hinata, but the predicament was too funny.

"That little piece of shit. When I get better I'm gonna–," Sasuke growled threateningly. Hinata put the snickering Akamaru on the floor who scampered over to Kiba proudly. The girl tried to calm the former Sharingan-wielder down.

"I'm so sorry, Uchiha-san! Please forgive Akamaru, he doesn't know what he's doing," she pleaded, touching the injured man on the shoulder.

"Oh, I'm sure he knows what he's doing. I bet that Inuzuka-mutt told him to do everything," Sasuke accused darkly. "Yeah, I know about the Inuzuka clan and their dogs."

Hinata quickly glanced at Kiba who in turn, shrugged innocently. The girl sighed helplessly but couldn't blame Kiba for anything. Even Akamaru seemed innocent, but she couldn't be one hundred percent sure. She didn't have anything against it, but she knew that those two were a pair of troublemakers.

"No way in hell am I going to use that damn dog to help me around the house," Sasuke swore. And when an Uchiha swears, he sticks by it.

But little did he know, another two weeks had passed and Hinata was no where to be found. Sasuke cursed, but sense got knocked into him. If he used the dog, he wouldn't have to use the girl. If he didn't use the girl, he wouldn't be in such a big debt to her.

The young man blew out a breath and turned to the dog he could hear panting beside him. _Man. All the slobber, and the fur, and the stupid piss tricks of this damn dog will really be the end of me._

"Come on, Akamaru. Hyuga-san obviously left you here for a reason." Sasuke shifted so that his toes touched the hard floor. He heard the dog back and jump off of the mattress. Akamaru landed next to Sasuke's feet to wait for his temporary patient.

"Take me to the kitchen. I'm hungry," Sasuke ordered. Akamaru barked once again, trotting ahead of the young man.

Sasuke followed shakily but knew he could do it. He needed to stop depending on Hinata. _Who ever heard of a man, especially an Uchiha, depending on a woman? It's absolutely insane._

Of course, he was getting used to walking around his room and through some halls, but that was when Hinata was with him. She'd hum a small tune that he couldn't quite name and Sasuke would obediently follow her. Who would've thought he'd be reduced to such a state.

Sasuke had his doubts about the little hell hound in front of him. He could sense that Kiba was a little less than welcoming to the idea of Hinata taking care of him. He and his dog were really a conniving pair, if Sasuke had ever saw one.

As the Uchiha snapped back to reality, he found that he couldn't hear the clicks of Akamaru's claws anymore. Sasuke cursed himself–he had been spacing out a lot lately. And now it cost him some great food.

But then he heard the distant clicking and followed that. The young man stumbled as he made his way down a hall. He was beginning to lose hope, when he caught the waft of cuisine. Sasuke thought he was going to break into joyful tears.

He could feel the double-doors right under fingertips. Being too overeager for a change, he pushed them open. He did it! He proved that he was able to get somewhere on his own! He proved that he was–!

"You damn idiot."

Sasuke's triumphant thoughts were brutally chopped up and interrupted by the same husky baritone that had come from that one blonde in his dream. From the dripping sound he heard coming from the linoleum, Sasuke deduced that something had spilled.

"You better watch where the hell you're going Uchiha. Hinata-sama can only protect you for so long," the voice identified as Hyuga Neji threatened.

The long-haired man spat the noodles from the corners of his mouth. His maid, which was also the head maid of the house, wasn't anywhere to be found either. So of course, being the good guy he was, Neji had made himself some ramen, courtesy of Naruto. That guy had been visiting a lot with Sakura lately and had deposited a few of his goodies.

_Dammit, Ten Ten. When you get back here, I'm going to have a word with you about disappearing..._

"Sorry about that," Sasuke muttered half-heartedly. "I didn't see you there."

"Of course you didn't." Both men payed no attention the unintentional pun mentioned. If Sasuke still had his vision, he and Neji would both be dead from the death-glares given off.

"If you'll excuse me, I have to be going," Neji stated, roughly brushing past him. The Hyuga didn't know why he acted so...mean. Normally, he was actually polite. Neji snorted. Maybe it was because of the mutt and the foreboding feeling he got from him.

Sasuke was left to stare into nothingness. He took a step forward though, happy mood regained, and promptly slipped on the soup. His whole body, except for his vocal chords, whimpered at the fall. He was dazed and lying in soup–what else could happen?

The clicking of claws danced into his ears once again. Sasuke groaned at the message. Akamaru jovially hopped onto Sasuke's newly healed chest, panting down at him. The youth shook his head.

"Whatever you do, do not–." He was cut off as the dog licked some of the food off of his face. "Lick me."

Sasuke wanted to cry like a girl who was PMS-ing. He wanted to go to his mommy and sit on her lap so she could rock him to sleep. There was really nothing left for him in the world but to shrivel up and die. He felt pathetically depressed at the moment and he didn't know why.

_No, wait, actually I do,_ Sasuke thought.

Maybe that nurse who Hinata liked had it in for him. Oh, she didn't tell him–even a blind man could tell. Or maybe that annoying doctor that had the hots for him was trying to make him fall in love with her. Whatever the real cause, he needed to lay off the pills.

The double-doors opened and Sasuke was bonked in the head. Once again, he wanted to cry. _Damn those pills!_

He heard a gasp that could have only come from Hinata. She had someone with her hair up in buns with her. Hinata bent down next to her emotionally unstable patient.

"I'm so sorry, Uchiha-san!" she apologized, on the brink of tears. How could she hurt her own patient! And what was he doing on the floor! "Are you all right!"

Hinata helped the young man sit up, who grunted in pain. The other lady came to help. "Ten Ten-nee, I'm sorry about this."

"Don't worry about it," the maid replied with a smile. Though she was of lower status in the house, Hinata grew up with her and respected her like a sibling. "I have a weird feeling Neji-sama had something to do with this."

The two helped Sasuke up to his bed, but he sat on a chair since he didn't want the sheets wet. Hinata hesitated but nodded, and sat on the mattress. Ten Ten left the two alone to have a talk with Neji.

"I'm sorry I was gone, this wouldn't have happened," Hinata flustered. She felt so bad about it, she couldn't even put it into words. Sasuke shook his head in a dismissive manner.

"Don't apologize. It's all right, really," he said. He didn't want the girl to keep worrying about him since the noises she made when worried brought him a headache. "Just tell me where you were."

"Oh! I went to go set up your therapy," Hinata finally said. Sasuke's eyebrow raised in confusion.

"Therapy? What kind of therapy?" he asked her. The girl poked her fingers together at his demanding tone.

"Um, it'll be, um, animal therapy," she stammered. That little problem had gotten better over the years, but it was something that she supposed would always be there.

"Oh, damn." Sasuke groaned inwardly as Hinata started to apologize. _I think I've had my share of animals for the rest of my life._

**Author's Note:**

Hey, thanks for reading! After spring break, I don't know how often I'll be able to update. I'm really busy during the week and weekends are spent with family or doing homework. So please don't hate me or flame me for late updates. I've warned you beforehand so...yeah.

Sorry to sound so mean, but it's not intentional. Don't let that little lecture bother you from reviewing though! Please forgive any spelling or grammatical errors! On a side note, can anyone guess who the assassins are? Haha, real hard, I know.

Next chapter: Sasuke takes a trip to paradise. More like PET paradise. There he meets up with another would-be groupie and a mail-man who's just too damn lazy to deliver the mail.

See ya guys next time! Don't forget to review!


	3. Ruminate

A/n: Here's the next chapter you guys! Seems like you guys are wondering if our little Uchiha will get his sight back. Let me just say, IF he does it won't be for a WHILE. Snicker snicker. And yes, Sasuke won't be too weak for long, either. Wait and see my friends, wait and see. It kind of is grating on me as well though.

As far as some more characters coming...you guys know I had to add in a certain Sand-nin, didn't you:) YESSS. I can't wait to add him in...kukuku, the things I have in store.

Thanks for reviewing and beware of possible OOCness from certain characters.

Disclaimer: Nope. Nada. Zip. Kishimoto-sama tempts us real good.

Claim: I do own this plot though! Thank you very much, have a nice day.

The Heir  
Chapter Three  
Ruminate

He could not believe it. He _wouldn't_ believe it. There was no way Hinata had set him up for some insane psycho-therapy with deranged animals.

"Are you ready to go, Uchiha-san? We're going to Yamanaka's Pet Paradise today!" Hinata called benignly through his door.

She would. And at the moment, Sasuke hated the nice girl. But instead of damning her to hell like he wanted, he remained a polite little boy and grunted.

Sasuke sat on the edge of his bed, head tilted downward. He had been mostly dressed by Hinata (except for certain undergarments), and he off-handedly wondered what she chose for him. The girl was never able to give him a bath though–she was too flustered to even think about it. So, she just had a male attendant do that. Frankly, Sasuke would have much rather had Hinata or a girl do the honor.

Hinata opened the door with a smile plastered on her face. It wasn't really fake, but whenever she was around Sasuke, she couldn't help but get a little down. The young man was always so depressed. She walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder, and he nodded in silent response.

_I think I'm done preparing for Hell, _he thought bitterly.

As Hinata led him outside, she realized it would be his fist time outside since...that night. She really wished he could see it, maybe it would've upped his spirits a little. Birds were chirping, there were only a few small clouds in they sky, and the weather was perfect.

"Oh, Uchiha-san, you should see the weather! It's so nice today," Hinata said, looking happily up at the sky. "I...I think it would make you happy."

"I like ominous days," Sasuke muttered. He really was getting annoyed at the stupid birds and stupid nice weather. What was there to be happy about, anyway?

Hinata's smile fell slightly. "Oh, I-I'm sorry. Well, it's nice...if you like...um, weather with um, cloudless skies and sun..."

Sasuke ignored her rambling about the scenery. He didn't find it annoying more than he found it helpful. He knew that she continued to talk so that he would know the way to 'paradise.' Most of the time, he appreciated the quiet girl's company. Actually, he was beginning to believe that a grudging familiarity was winning her over as a friend.

The Uchiha wanted to jump off a bridge. What the hell was he talking about? A familiarity? True, the girl was nice, quiet, not into what girls called 'huggling', and she never squealed. But Sasuke knew there was no room for friends in his life, and there never had been.

Even when he was younger, people he'd befriend would be after his money, looks, or fame. Either that, or they'd be endangered.

His space-out mode was halted when he felt a timid brush against his forearm. It was Hinata's way of attracting his attention or swaying him from any obstacles of danger. He wondered why the girl never took charge and just tugged on him. Sometimes he wanted to force her to clamp a hand onto his shoulder–the little touches made him a bit itchy.

"U-Uchiha-san, we're here." Hinata looked towards the booming business of a pet shop. There were playful puppies and curious kittens greeting them in the windows and the place had such a welcoming feel about it.

"All right," Sasuke said, not sure of what else to say. The Hyuga tried to help him over the only bad thing about the shop–cracked sidewalks. She didn't want to touch him at all–Hinata felt she wasn't too worthy. There was no way Sasuke was going to get over that huge wrinkle in the concrete though.

"Oh, shi–!" Sasuke stumbled completely off of his feet and Hinata watched in horror he seemed to pause in mid-air. If she didn't do anything now, what kind of caretaker would she be?

Hinata grabbed onto Sasuke anywhere she could the pair fell awkwardly onto the pavement. She wasn't injured since she was wearing her ever-present jacket, but she was more worried about Sasuke.

"Uchiha- san, are you okay!" she asked frantically. Hinata seriously considered crying if anything happened to him.

"Ugh, I'm fine, Hyuga-san. Thank you," Sasuke grunted on top of her. Sure, his arms were starting to kill him again and everywhere else was crying, but he was all good.

"Wow. I didn't know I'd have to treat a nympho, too," a teasing voice said, behind them. Hinata's eyes widened frightfully since she knew that remark was about her.

"I-I'm sorry, Yamanaka-san," she respectfully said, shifting so that Sasuke could get off of her. The blonde owner waved a dismissing hand at the young girl.

"It's all right, Hinata, but call me Ino," the Yamanaka said to Hinata. "And don't worry, I was just kidding about the nympho part!"

Hinata fumbled slightly as she helped herself up, then Sasuke. The Uchiha had listened to the conversation strangely and scoffed at it. _Like a girl like Hinata could be a nympho._

"So this is him, huh?" Ino looked Sasuke up and down, scrutinizing his every feature. She never knew a beat-up guy could be so attractive in the simple clothes he was wearing. He donned a pair of khaki cargo pants and a simple, navy blue, hooded sweater. "Can't wait to see him when he's all healed."

Sasuke stayed silent as Hinata blushed slightly. It's true, he was healing faster than any other regular human would in his state and showing his nature-born features. Most of his broken bones were mended and the only things that marred his otherwise perfect skin were pearly scars. True to the Uchiha name, Sasuke had proven to be very good-looking under all of his wounds.

"Um, I-Ino, he's blind...not, um, deaf..."

"Oh, whoops! Really?" Ino smiled sheepishly but then waved it off. "That's okay. I'm sure he's used to comments like that."

Hinata helped Sasuke through the wide door way as he continued to curse over the stumbles he suffered. Inside Paradise, there was assortments of animals in cages or even just roaming around. Hinata squeaked as a python leered at her dangerously.

"Forehead-girl told me all about–what was it?–ah, yes, Sasuke-kun." Ino led the two to a place some what in the back, closed off from the rest of the shop. Hinata sighed with relief as she saw that no other animals could get in unless the door was opened.

Sasuke had an itching feeling about this Ino-girl. Yeah, from the first thing she said about him, she seemed like a would-be groupie.

"Uchiha-san, I'll be leaving you here for an hour, okay?" Sasuke wanted to scream. The only person he was semi-comfortable with was leaving him with rabid losers with fur and scales and talons and–.

"Don't worry, Sasuke-kun, I'll take care of you." The Uchiha groaned silently. That was a promise he could've done well without.

But sure enough, Hinata said good-bye. _More like abandoned_, Sasuke thought bitterly. The great Uchiha sat on a bench in the little therapy corner with a tiny kitten on his lap.

Now, it wasn't as evil as Akamaru first was–he didn't try to make Sasuke lose all hope of restoring his clan. The kitten was nice and docile, which was the opposite of what Sasuke normally thought of felines.

Sasuke had the idea that all animals were pretty much from hell–cats and dogs being the main evil leaders. No one knew why he didn't like them since they were so "cute and cuddly." But the young man had known cats to be maniacal things with vicious claws that deceived people in the day while killing them at night.

The young lad sighed–he had been thinking a lot lately. Sasuke had become a contemplative man. He thought about anything: cats, dogs, why Neji was such a bastard to him, and everything else that came to mind. More over, he ruminated about his life. Sasuke never had real any use for it, so why was he trying to save it now?

He damned his medication. Now, it was making him depressed and angst-filled. The guy sneered at the sniveling woman he was becoming.

Sasuke still couldn't get his mind off of when he was going to leave. He didn't want to make a permanent imprint on any one of these people's lives, but his condition was hindering him from departing.

He supposed he'd just wait until he was well enough to start training. And then, when he was finally back to his ass-kicking, lethal weapon status he'd hunt the bastards down that did this to him. Since they cost him sight, he'd charge them their lives.

Sure, he hadn't been able to take them before. Just because Sasuke was now blind and the four were still perfectly in tact didn't mean that they'd win again. He'd fought them once before and his Sharingan probably copied everything.

Oh, wait. Would he still be able to do their moves if he was blind! Did he still even _have_ the Sharingan? What the hell was he supposed to do now?

Good Lord, he was going through more mood swings. One moment he was sensitive, then the next he was vengeful, and then freaking out.

Sasuke hadn't noticed he had started squeezing the kitten who was mewling under his strong grip. It wriggled a paw out of his grasp and swat at him, claws unsheathed. The man cried out and dropped the poor cat to the floor, who ran to corner and curled up into a measly ball. The Uchiha sighed.

_Great, now kittens avoid me. _

A tinkling he never heard before softly ran through the shop. The front door closed and Sasuke heard steps padding around, admiring the view. The young man stayed on alert–it could be the four again, but from the chakra, he could tell it wasn't them. True, his chakra sensing ability had been worn down only a tad, but it was still in tact–sort of. Just to be sure it wasn't anyone dangerous, he wasn't going to take any chances.

"What the hell are you doing here!" But it looks like someone beat him to it. The voice he knew to be Ino came out of where ever she was helping a customer.

Even the blind man could tell that she was cross at the intrusion. Obviously it wasn't a customer, but who could make her so annoyed? Why, it was some pineapple-headed mail man.

"Will you stop shouting already? What's got you so worked up?" he asked, scratching his ear. Ino's eyebrow twitched a little bit.

"Shikamaru, you've been coming here for the past–oh, I don't know–three weeks and for no apparent reason!" she hissed quietly, so that she wouldn't disturb others. "I don't even know who the hell you are!"

"Oh, you know me," Shikamaru said, waving a dismissing hand. He looked around the place in a bored manner.

He wasn't the best looking mail-man (unless the light hit his face just right and winked), but he was definitely not the worst. There was something about his lazy demeanor that gave off a homey, comfy feeling though. A bored type of scowl always adorned his lips and it made a girl wonder what he was thinking behind those brown eyes. "I'm your friendly, neighborhood mail man."

"You don't even deliver your own packages!" Ino seethed. Shikamaru funnily noted the throbbing vein in her forehead. "You make poor Chouji do it for you, lazy-ass!"

"He needs to lose weight anyways," he joked, but not meaning it.

"Shikamaru!"

Sasuke held a bitter smirk to their conversation. The two reminded him of children in a petting zoo. And now he remembered why he stayed in the Hyuga compound–.

"Who's the guy in the kiddy corner?"

It was so he wouldn't kill idiots like Shikamaru. "Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I can't kick your ass."

Shikamaru raised a dark eyebrow at the injured guy while Ino rushed forward to assuage him. "Now, now, Sasuke-kun, he was just joking. RIGHT, Shika?"

"Whatever," Shikamaru sighed, waving his hand. He turned away to observe the place. "How troublesome..."

_What're we gonna do with him? _

"Be nice, Shikamaru, he's a patient of mine," Ino pleaded, looking back and forth between the two. The would-be genius rolled his eyes to the ceiling.

"Fine, I already told you I would," he muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He had learned that if Ino was desperate enough to plead, it was worth consenting.

Sasuke listened as Shikamaru made his way through the store to the back. The Uchiha wondered with curiosity what he would be doing. At this moment, he really wished he had his sight back–so he could see how stupid the idiot really looked.

Before Shikamaru was out of Sasuke's hearing range, he heard the post-man say, "The clouds look real nice today."

The Uchiha scrunched up his nose in distaste. _Did he just say something about the clouds? What kind of person watches clouds all day? _

"I think I'll look at 'em all day..." Apparently, this kind of person. Sasuke heard Ino sigh in exasperation.

"FINE. Just don't disturb the customers or birds out back, lazy-ass." And with that, she stormed off, wanting to vent her frustration to the flowers in her office. The customer she had been tending to looked around, confused.

_This is great. Just great_, Sasuke thought sarcastically. _I'm stuck here with these morons._

The girl stared into the lavender-tinted orbs which were higher than her own, on the face of a man taller than her. There was no way she was going to back down. She had a damn good reason to give him a stern look and he knew it as well. Though he was the master of this house, she was not afraid to let him know he was being an ass.

"Neji-sama, I'll have you know that was very mean, what you did to Sasuke-san," she said, still looking straight at him. The Hyuga male sighed and turned away.

"I didn't make him fall, it was him who made me drop my soup and spill it everywhere," he explained, regarding the past incident. TenTen had told him what happened to the Uchiha and he wasn't very surprised. "It's not my fault that he can't see where he's going."

The maid continued to give him a harsh look. He didn't mean that last statement to be degrading, it just sort of slipped. Really, he didn't.

"Why're you so harsh on the boy, anyway?" she asked him, referring to the young man only a year younger than herself. Neji's jaw tightened slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

True, TenTen was just the head maid of the house, but Neji took banters from her when needed. She was like another sister to him–yeah...a sister–besides Hinata, though he didn't show it. The brunette would remind him if he was out of line or grating too much on the younger Hyuga girl.

"Whoever did this to Uchiha...if they find out he's alive, they'll come here," he said, staring straight ahead. TenTen moved to stand by his freshly seated self.

"That's _if_ they find out," she said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. Neji shook his head at her.

"I have an ominous feeling about this guy... He'll bring us trouble," he confessed. TenTen smiled sympathetically at him.

"It's not his fault Hinata found him. You know how caring she is for people," she said. "It was her choice to look after him, and I say we stick by her."

"I still don't like him," Neji voiced. TenTen gave him her own disapproving look and rolled her eyes.

"Is it because he's known as a socialite and is _also_ part of SHINOBI?" she asked of him. Neji grunted in a short response.

"...Partly."

"What is it then?" TenTen waited for the Hyuga to give an answer. And this time she wasn't going to stand for a sound effect.

"...What he does with women..."

The maid rolled her eyes and pat his shoulder again. "He wouldn't try any of that with Hinata-chan. Trust me."

Neji's eyes threatened to widen as he felt TenTen's arms slowly wrap around him from behind. She didn't mean anything by it, or did she? Everyone in the house knew they had feelings for one another but they'd never act on them since duty meant so much more.

"Don't worry Neji-sama. It'll be fine between them."

The Hyuga sighed and lightly placed a hand on top of her own. _And what of us?_ He supposed he'd just have to trust her.

Hinata smiled, on her way to pick up Sasuke. The day was completely perfect for her; she couldn't help but pity anyone that thought it was horrible. But she remembered the one person who did and immediately scratched that thought.

The angst-filled man had become quite an interesting person to watch progress. Hinata couldn't see how she could miss the famous face before. He used to be all over newspapers and TV, though he really didn't do much. She remembered he was even part of SHINOBI and that he was a capable killing machine. She also recalled she would feel very uncomfortable under his onyx, and sometimes red, gaze–even if it was just a picture. The girl was a little glad he kept his eyes closed, or else she'd be stuttering every word in front of him.

The Hyuga wondered what his past life was like; before coming with her. She wondered if he was a good SHINOBI–but she didn't think about that for too long. The first day he woke up was proof enough for her. It was amazing how he could be so well known, and not once get caught on a mission.

She recalled that even his brother, Ita-something or other, was even head of the SHINOBI in Konoha. _I should look that up later..._

She supposed it was a perk of being an Uchiha. Their lineage was legendary and so were their techniques. They were natural fighters and were known to be charming to those who had required their services. The most special mark of their clan was the Sharingan. Hinata's clan had their own Byakugan, which the Sharingan had developed from, but she couldn't help but wonder how the latter was like in action.

Hinata herself wasn't fully able to use her own Byakugan to its full potential. Unlike her younger sister, Hanabi, and her cousin Neji, she wasn't much of a fighter. The Hyuga girl looked down sadly.

Her own father had tried to train her but each time, she would fail miserably. Hiashi had gotten fed up and moved on to Hanabi, thus disregarding the older heiress. Hinata didn't understand why fighting was so important anymore anyway. She didn't want to be a SHINOBI and it's not like clans were constantly pit against each other.

Hinata's childhood had been less than happy, what with being beaten so much (she didn't want to think about that at the moment though), but she was glad she had her friends nearby.

Kiba was all she ever had when she was younger, and she was glad that he was a reliable friend when need be. They happened to meet when Akamaru peed on the bushes outside the main Hyuga compound. The guards were shouting hurtful things to the dog while Kiba was doing the same to them. Hinata had ran out and saw the sweet puppy so she picked him up in her small, five-year-old arms. Long story short, she assuaged the guards and Kiba thanked her.

It was one of the first times that someone had ever said anything like that to her.

Now, the Inuzuka stood tall at six foot three but his size was just used to protect her from the cold and other harmful things. With his grins and matured features he had become a part-time lady-killer, but that never stopped him from being there for her. It never worked to gain Hinata's affections though.

The few friends she had prodded her as to why she never fell for him, but the girl could never answer. Love was something foreign to her. That is, until _he_ showed up. Hinata started to blush terribly as people on the sidewalks looked at her a bit strangely.

Uzumaki Naruto had only been an assistant to Sakura for about three weeks, but already he had wriggled his way into Hinata's shy heart. The girl was struck dumb from the sight of his own comical grin and helping hands. She had been speechless the first time she caught a glimpse of him with the pink-haired doctor and sometimes, she still was.

Hinata giggled slightly at herself for being so...school girl-ish. She lightly tapped her face to make sure a blush didn't adorn it so Sasuke wouldn't be witness to its fury. The girl lightly smacked herself for that thought–how could she forget his handicap?

The Hyuga had successfully retrieved the Uchiha, much to his concealed gratitude. Hinata waved good-bye to Ino and the strange cloud-gazer she just met, before leading Sasuke onto the street. This time she made sure he made it past the cracks and smiled.

"How did it go, Sasuke-san?" he heard her ask him. For some reason Hinata seemed really happy, but he wasn't. Sasuke grimaced slightly.

"...Please don't make me go back," he asked of her. Hinata laughed quietly as she let him past a pole.

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad," she said to him. Just then a thought hit Sasuke.

"Since when did I become 'Sasuke'-san?" Hinata's eyes widened at the little slip up she allowed. She must've been in such a giddy mood that Naruto brought that she skipped that last name!

"I-I'm sorry, Uchiha-san," she apologized, bowing though he couldn't really see her. Sasuke shook his head nonchalantly.

"It's fine. You can call me that, if you want," he mumbled. Hinata looked up at him in surprise. "I guess, we're kind of friends, anyways..."

Sasuke couldn't help it, though he cursed himself.. Apparently some of her joy was contagious. Hinata smiled delightfully at him and if Sasuke could've seen it, he would have been bedazzled.

"Oh, really? Well, you can call me H-Hinata-san, too, if you want," she stuttered, flattered at his comment. She was so busy fluttering about that she forgot to lead Sasuke out of the dangers known as street-lights. Sasuke smirked slightly.

"Maybe I will."

And with that, he promptly walked into a pole.

Author's Note: When Sasuke was considering him and Hinata being friends, he only means friends... For now at least. And Hinata feels the same way as well. Sorry that this chapter was kind of boring... It's more to have you guys kind of get to knowthe characters, I suppose.I stayed home from school to finish an essay due today but used my precious time to work on this as well. Damn my procrastinating skills.

Sorry for any OOCness and Sasuke's bitter-ness. Pretty soon, though, I expect him back to his arrogant self. ...I think...

And can you believe it? I'm listening to my "Naruto Best Hits" CD. Geez, I am so cool.

Anyways, please review! Constructive criticism is welcomed but flames will be used to roast my marshmallows.

**Next Chapter:** It's Kiba's birthday, which also happens to be Tanabata Festival! Hinata invites Sasuke along to celebrate, but will his angst get in the way? And if he does, just exactly _what_ will the Uchiha wish for? His sight, or something else?

Someone also seems to be following the happy group and a member of the party-goers is kidnaped before they get to celebrate turning nineteen...


	4. Wishes and Grooves

A/n: Yo! Bwahaha thanks for the reviews! Anyways, I think everyone knows who will be kidnaped, so what's the use of prolonging it? Ah yes, this chapter is a little longer than any of my previous ones... Hope it makes up for not updating!

There's some language in this chapter (in the spirit of rage and being a young man) and a little cameo which I couldn't resist!

Disclaimer: I don't think I'll say this again for the rest of the story...unless I feel like it.  
Claim: My plot.

_Hinata squeezed her eyes even more closed when she realized sun was filtering through her glass window. Her white, cotton sheets were strewn about her body in a messy manner. It was the first week of July and the weather had more than just started to take its toll. Even though she only wore a tank top and shorts for the summer, her skin felt rather sticky._

_The girl's pearly gaze sleepily shifted over to the tiny calendar on her bedside table. A smile suddenly lit Hinata's face. It was July seventh–Kiba's birthday._

The Heir  
Chapter Four  
**Wishes and Grooves**

From down the hall, Sasuke could tell that Hinata was coming to his room. And this time it wasn't from the familiar tune she was humming, but from the fact that he sensed her. That's right–Uchiha Sasuke was getting his groove back. The Uchiha was becoming extremely smug with his little accomplishment when the door opened.

"Oi, where's Hinata-chan?" an obnoxious voice asked Sasuke. The man was momentarily confused at the tenor that greeted him. Where was the higher, nicer-sounding voice?

"Inuzuka?" The addressed man rolled his eyes. He looked around the room once more.

"Who else would it be, Uchiha?" Kiba asked, stopping his search. Sasuke wanted to kill himself–he knew it was the pills getting to him again.

"How the hell should I know?" he returned snappily. Kiba glared at the man sitting on the bed.

"She's always around here so I figured she'd be feeding you by now," the dog-boy said, leaning against the door frame. "It's already almost noon."

Sasuke tried not to let a little fact bother him–Hinata hadn't come to see him yet all day. The Uchiha had been up since six in the morning and he decided to wait for the girl. If she wanted to hang around, it was the least he could do. Sasuke felt another presence and finally rejoiced.

"Happy birthday, Kiba-kun!" Hinata declared. Though she meant it to be loud, with Hinata's nature it didn't sound as boisterous as it should've.

Sasuke snorted. _So it's the mutt's birthday, huh? Where's the hot dog?_ Sasuke's thoughts were answered when Akamaru crudely landed in his lap. The Uchiha was lucky though, because this time there were no vital organs involved.

The young man wanted to swat the pest away but knew he'd probably get reprimanded or something. And as much as he hated to admit–the loser wasn't as bad as he was in the beginning.

"Sasuke-san, it's Kiba-kun's birthday today," Hinata said, addressing the angst-filled teen on the bed. He, in return, nodded.

"A bunch of us are goin' down to the Tanabata Festival. It's for my birthday. You wanna come?" Kiba asked, turning to look at the shorter Hyuga. Hinata smiled up at him.

"Of course, I would," she said. Her gaze caught Sasuke's appearance and something suddenly lit in her mind. He looked so alone and alienated that she couldn't help but want to help him. "I-Is it all right if Sasuke-san came along, too?"

"No," the men both answered. Hinata's face turned surprised and fell, slightly crestfallen.

"O-Okay then, um..." she trailed off, poking her fore-fingers together. The two men stared (as well as they could) at her own reaction.

"...Fine." Another simultaneous answer. The men glared at each other, well, Sasuke was trying but you know how that fares. Hinata shook her head.

"No, I-it's all right. Kiba-kun: you don't want him to go. And Sasuke-san: you don't want to go," she said, giving a fake smile. The Inuzuka sighed and scratched his hood-free head.

"Hinata, he can come. I _want_ him to come," Kiba lied. The guy winced inwardly–maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he thought it would be. "Anyways, I gotta go. I couldn't get hold of Sakura or Naruto for some reason so I'm gonna head over to their places."

The Hyuga girl smiled reassuringly and nodded. Kiba placed a hand on her head and lightly ruffled her marine hair. "It's up to him if he wants to come." And with that, he exited.

Sasuke damned the master as Akamaru hopped off of his lap. Kiba had put him in an awkward position. Obviously Hinata wanted him to maybe come, but truth be told, he didn't like social gatherings. Especially when he couldn't see who was there and where he was.

"U-Um, Sasuke-san, I'm sorry for not coming earlier. I didn't kn-know you were awake," Hinata explained, sitting across from the Uchiha. She fiddled with a loose thread on her shirt. "I was getting Kiba-kun's present..."

"Doesn't matter," Sasuke replied bluntly. _Liar_, his conscience told him.

The two sat in silence for a while, with Hinata trying to muster up the courage to actually ask him to come. The girl was getting upset at her inability to ask a simple question. She was going to Kiba's gathering, but she didn't want to leave Sasuke alone. He seemed to have let his barrier dissipate around her–even though it was very little. It wasn't like he had any friends... Maybe it was time for him to get some real ones.

"S-Sasuke-san... I would really l-like it if you, um, came w-with me," Hinata said, stuttering terribly compared to her fixed speech. The Hyuga shut her eyes tightly, waiting for the grunted response.

The Uchiha sighed silently. He didn't know why but he felt he could pay her back by being nice to her. Sasuke knew it wasn't much but there was nothing else to give her but himself. Hinata had willingly spent time with Sasuke, even if he was a little anal in the beginning. She was understanding, patient, and everything else that Sasuke wanted to eventually become.

"...I'll go with you, Hinata," he voiced, his tenor vibrating though his throat. Hinata looked up in complete shock. Not only did he formally agree to come, but he left out the honorific as well!

"I'm happy you decided to, Sasuke-san!" she rejoiced, her voice a soft tinkling. There was no way was she mentioning the forgotten attachment–it was only a mistake after all. "Kiba's birthday is also Tanabata Festival so we'll leave around three."

"Hn," was the only answer that Sasuke gave. Hinata shook her head in a good-natured manner.

"Don't worry about you clothes either. I-I'll pick them out for you," Hinata said. She couldn't help that she stammered. And she couldn't help that she lightly blushed either.

"Do what you wish," Sasuke replied. Now that he had accepted the invitation to interact with other people, he was back mono-syllabic answers.

"Um, yes, Sasuke-san." And with that, Hinata got up from her wooden seat. The navy-haired girl smiled down at the onyx one. "Let's go eat. I think we're both hungry..."

Sasuke nodded and got up to follow her. The Uchiha had started to get used to how the furniture in the house was plotted, so he didn't need as much help as before. Sure, Hinata hummed, but he didn't rely on her as much.

Even Neji seemed to lay off, though just a little. Sasuke wondered what could've changed his mind. TenTen seemed to know the answer but she wasn't telling. What she did say, though, was how adorable he looked in his yukata.

Sasuke shuffled in his cotton robe as he felt the appraising stare of the older woman. As she gushed out pleasantries, he couldn't help but blush slightly. Though he was used to the stares or compliments before, he used to have his eyes to silent their squeals. His intense, onyx glare was enough to silence any fan.

"Oh Hinata, I must say, that is a nice yukata," TenTen smiled. Hinata blushed lightly and brushed the lavender fabric of her kimono.

"Thank you, TenTen-nee," she replied, pleasingly embarrassed. The maid grinned at her younger ward.

"Thank you," Sasuke muttered stiffly, having to reply out of gratitude. He donned a simple navy blue yukata with a quaint white sake jug on the back. On the jug, it showed the word "bad" in kanji. Hinata felt a little guilty at the words, but she immediately assured him it could mean the new sense of the word: cool. A black obi wound its way around his waist in a casual, but too-good, way.

"I-I'm sorry I picked something so dark, Sasuke-san," Hinata said hurriedly. She clenched her hands in front of her, awaiting what he'd say.

"It's fine. I'd rather wear something like this than something garish," Sasuke assured her. The girl could possibly be too apologetic for her own good.

"It's a shame you can see little Hinata-chan," TenTen remarked. Hinata looked at her with wide eyes while Sasuke raised a questioning eyebrow. "She's looking very well herself."

Hinata blushed terribly and wanted to immediately covered her own face. Though she didn't have romantic feelings towards the dark young man, she never took any compliments very well.

The Uchiha smirked at the uncomfortable feeling in the air coming from the shy girl. For some reason, she always seemed to amuse him with her fluttering antics. He knew from TenTen that the kimono was quite appealing. It was light lavender with little white flowers embroidered with seemingly iridescent threads. A pearly obi with a darker purple tie sat around her waist, which supposedly outlined her figure.

Sasuke adjusted the material which wound around his eyes. He had become a little lazy to leave his eyes closed while not sleeping but he didn't want to expose children to the horror that were his eyes. Hinata had suggested a blindfold and the Uchiha gruffly agreed.

"The blindfold gives a rogue look, Sasuke-san," TenTen offered. Sasuke replied with a stiff nod.

"Ah, TenTen-nee, I think it's time we should get going," Hinata spoke up, fumbling with an imaginary item. The maid nodded her consent.

"Alright, go on ahead you two," she said, waving her hand. The Hyuga girl gave a timid smile and nodded.

"Let's go S-Sasuke-san. We're supposed to meet at, um, three." Hinata walked a few steps and smiled when she saw that the Uchiha knew to follow.

Neji came out from behind a corner and watched the two depart, arms crossed over his strong chest. A minuscule gash adorned his right cheek and his knuckles showed signs of a fight.

"Just come back from a mission?"

The Hyuga male looked down at TenTen and nodded. His steely glare only fit to show how much he didn't approve of small talk at the moment. The maid rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Where are they going?" Neji asked. TenTen looked up at him, still wondering why he had such a problem with Sasuke.

"It's Kiba's birthday today so they're going out for Tanabata Festival," she explained levelly. Neji seemed to regard this information for a moment. "You trust she'll be all right, don't you?"

"Of course," Neji answered after some time. He disappeared behind another corner and TenTen put a hand to her forehead.

_When will he understand?_

* * *

"Hey, Hinata-chan!" a young man greeted cheerfully. Hinata tried to hide the blush as she approached the saluting blonde.

"H-Hello, Naruto-kun," she said shyly. Naruto smiled at her and Kiba came out of nowhere to greet his good friend.

"Oi, Hinata-chan. Glad you could make it," he said. The dog-man shifted his glance over to Sasuke. "Sasuke-san, too."

"Hn," was the reply he received from the Uchiha.

It was another beautiful day in Konoha – the month was apparently July. The weather had a lazy, yet jovial, air to it while children in their colorful yukatas ran around in a hyper manner. The booths for the festival were already set up, ready to take the money of the unsuspecting strangers.

Hinata looked over at the friends Kiba had decided to invite. Sakura was present. The three of them had known each other for a few years now, high school introducing them. Ino was more of Kiba's friend, especially with her owning a pet shop and Kiba owning Akamaru. The Yamanaka was currently berating a pineapple-headed young man, who Hinata came to know as Shikamaru. And Kiba's other good friend, Shino, had just come out of the ramen shop.

"Hey, let's go grub, you guys!" Everyone's heads turned to Kiba who ushered them back inside the ramen shop. Naruto whooped in childish glee.

"Oh, yeah! Ichiraku!" he rejoiced. Hinata laughed quietly at his antics as Sakura smacked him upside the head. "Ow! Sakura-chan, why do you have to hurt me so much?"

"I'm hoping I'll knock some sense into you."

"...That's not very nice."

"Forehead-girl, will you just shut up and get inside?" Ino demanded teasingly. The young doctor rounded on the blonde girl.

"Ino-pig, you got somethin' else to say!" she demanded, fire blazing in her jade eyes. Ino laughed at the girl condescendingly as she walked in. "HEY! I'm not through with you yet!"

Hinata looked back at Sasuke who simply remained in the spot he had been when they arrived. A concerned look overtook her countenance as she quietly approached him. "Sasuke-san, why don't you come in with us?"

"I'm not hungry," he simply replied. Hinata poked her fingers together timidly as she tried to interpret the answer.

_Oh, I see... He doesn't want me to help him eat..., _Hinata thought, coming to an epiphany. She wanted to flutter her hands about, unsure of what to do.

"Ah, Sasuke-san, it's...all right if you c-come in with us," she said shakily. Hinata didn't want to press him, but she did want him to enjoy the fun like everyone else.

Sasuke was quiet for a long while. He was sure as hell hungry, but his pride was getting in the way. The Uchiha thought that his pride had ebbed away when his sight did, but apparently not. He didn't want to be fed in front of those people–especially that Uzumaki guy. He was emanating the whole potential-rival-but-annoyingly-good-friend-for-life feeling.

But Hinata wanted him to go in. What else could he do to show his gratitude by complying? "Alright."

A light smile danced its way across Hinata's dainty lips. She was really glad he had accepted.

"Hinata-chan, that's so sweet what you're doing!" Sakura squealed. The girls were giggling while the guys were staring at them very weirdly.

Sasuke was acting very much like a small child would – he would stubbornly turn his head away each time Hinata would try and feed him. Even a tiny scowl cutely adorned his mouth. Eventually though, he'd have to open his mouth because he could feel how disappointed Hinata was. He wanted to cry.

"Eheheh... Widdle Sasuke-kun has to get fed," Naruto teased. Throughout the time he had known Sasuke, it was always fun to poke fun at the young man. The Uchiha would often throw one of Naruto's own tools at him, which always almost hit their target.

"Shut up, you imbecile," Sasuke retorted, gritting his teeth. The Uchiha clenched his fists in his lap. "Once I get my vision back, you're going to die."

"What're you gonna do? Make us spar in the dar–?" Naruto's insult was cut short as a blunt chopstick immediately embedded itself in the wooden head rest behind the blonde. Wide-eyed spectators switched their glance from the eating utensil to the one who threw it.

"Don't underestimate me. You forget I was a top SHINOBI," Sasuke warned. Naruto's good-tempered laugh broke the tense air around the friends.

"Of course, of course. Sorry I doubted ya, Sasuke-kun," the blonde said, blue eyes shut from mirth. Everyone else followed suit, glad that the little squall was over.

Sasuke relaxed and blew out a breath. He was lucky that he didn't miss the wall with the chopstick. But something else caught his acute senses.

"There's something we both have in common."

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched toward the nurse across from him. Obviously, the statement was meant to be said in a whisper, but the Uchiha's senses were heightened enough to pick it up.

The dark man furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as everyone started to get up out of the booths in jovial manners. _What the hell is that supposed to mean?_

A latch on his arm and a whiff of vanilla and lavender made Sasuke come back to reality. Hinata had actually grabbed his arm?

"Come on, Sasuke-san," she said. There was something different about her tone of voice. It was actually happy and showing it. The weird thing was, Sasuke was wishing he could see how she looked at that very moment.

Hinata took Sasuke out to the festival to see the soon-to-be-twilight sky. Since Naruto had ordered so many rounds for himself, the group had stayed in the Ichiraku for an hour – maybe even a little more. The heat of July was gradually subsiding, though a hint of it still lingered. There were even more people around now than there were earlier since the lovers of Tanabata Festival would be appearing in a few hours or so.

"Hinata, do you want to play any games?" Hinata turned to Shino and lightly smiled. She made sure that Sasuke was comfortably beside her.

"S-Sure, Shino," she said, laughing nicely. Something in Sasuke tweaked a little bit. The Uchiha wanted to punch himself.

Hinata followed Shino and the others as they spread themselves around the games. Naruto chomped on something like a kabob while he made Sakura lose the goldfish she'd been trying to catch. Sakura leapt up in rage and ran past Shikamaru to chase the blonde one. Ino took her anger out on bottles with a baseball that she fervently threw, imagining the mail-man's face on all five.

Sasuke stood aloof from the group, feeling very stupid. Even when he wasn't blind, he was alone. When he was a child he'd be separated from the rest of the SHINOBI candidates his age because of his skill. He remembered something his very beloved (note the sarcasm) older brother had told him before:

'_Power makes you aloof and arrogant.'_

Sasuke had no idea how right his brother was. He had to hand it to Itachi: if there was something the bastard knew about, it was power. The older brother was the former head of the Konoha branch SHINOBI. But Sasuke put up a facetiously convivial facade to the world, which he considered better than having people pity him.

A watery plop and small sound of indignation made Sasuke turn his head slightly to his left. Unknown to him, he was facing the little fish stand. A man with silver hair smiled behind a strange mask he wore.

"Sorry, miss, but looks like it got away," he lamented, half-apologetic. The vendor whipped out some kind of pocket book and proceeded to read the pages, a small laugh on the corner of his hidden mouth.

Hinata looked down sadly. She had tried eight times already, but she still couldn't capture the little sucker. A crunch in the dirt next to her crouched form turned her own attention to her right. She saw a pair of sandals and, looking up slightly, saw the navy blue fabric of a yukata. When she brought her gaze fully up, she saw Uchiha Sasuke standing there, head tilted down towards the little aquarium.

The vendor watched a young man with canines and marks on his face engage in some kind of loud drinking competition, before he saw the Uchiha in front of him. His eyes showed surprise, then settled down in silent mirth.

"Interesting fashion statement," he commented, looking Sasuke up and down. "Kind of matches my own."

Sasuke stayed silent but offered the vender the money it took for three tries. The other man blinked down at it before taking it in his own. "Are you sure that's enough for you?"

"Just give the damn catcher. I won't need any more tries," Sasuke said impatiently. He really didn't like the way this guy was being so patronizing. It was annoying as hell.

"If you're sure," the silver-haired man said, handing him the first one. Sasuke kneeled down and thankfully he was right in front of the aquarium.

Hinata was now standing up, but she watched with a nervous feeling in her stomach. Her fingers were timidly poking together like magnets while she stuttered a few words. "S-Sasuke-san, you don't have to. I don't really need a gol–!"

"But do you _want_ one?" Sasuke asked, calmly interrupting her. Hinata looked down in an ashamed manner.

"I don't want it badly..."

"But you want it, right? Even if it's a little, you want it," Sasuke insisted. Hinata's breath caught in her throat – she had never heard Sasuke really talk to her like that before.

"Y-Yes...," Hinata stammered, nodding her head only to add emphasis for herself to believe it.

The vendor watched the exchange of dialogue, amused. The only eye he allowed to show, he closed in contemplation. _Yeah, this guy really is an Uchiha..._

"Whenever you want something, Hinata, no matter how much...you have to go for it," Sasuke said to her, gripping the catcher. The girl's eyes widened at his neglect of an attachment – twice in one day. "There's no other way you're going to get it."

Sasuke calmly dipped his catcher into the cool water and waited. All he needed was a small brush against the film and it would be his. As he waited, he couldn't help but wonder why he suddenly said what he did to Hinata.

A brush was felt and Sasuke was about to catch the envious fish – if Naruto and Kiba hadn't burst out of nowhere. The boisterous youths had arms around each other's shoulders and were singing a verse of God-knows-what.

Sasuke threw down the broken catcher as the vendor laughed at the situation. Naruto caught a glimpse of him and blinked.

"Kakashi? What the hell are you doing here?" he asked childishly. The vender blinked at the blonde then put up a hand in salutation.

"Yo!" he said. The would-have-been-elite ninja scratched his cheek. "Just a little...job I got here."

"...Oh...," Naruto said, trailing off. "Well, gotta go!" And with that the eccentric, animalistic pals went off on their merry way. Hinata and Kakashi stared at the departing two with strange looks on their faces.

Sasuke's harsh grip on the catcher made the bamboo crack. _Those damn bastards messed up the whole point of my speech!_

"Calm down and focus on what you want," someone said to him. Sasuke supposed it was that weird vendor, Kakashi. "If your mind is over-populated with any kind emotion, it won't get you the fish."

Sasuke wanted to scoff – the man had weird ways to mentor.

But he dropped the broken catcher and reached forward to take hold of another one Kakashi had offered. The Uchiha blew out a slightly calmed breath and dipped it into the water once more.

"The fish feel your anger. They won't go near you."

Sasuke wanted to slap the man. Couldn't he understand that he was trying to prove something here! Sadly, his anger wasn't contained inside, and the catcher ripped from being thrashed in the water.

Hinata watched with horrified eyes. Not only did she feel emphatic for Sasuke, but she also felt sorry for the poor fish.

"One more time. Remember, you can't overload yourself," Kakashi said, handing him the last catcher. Sasuke nodded, completely set on catching that damn fish.

Sasuke let his breathing steady a bit before very slowly dipping the third catcher into the aquarium. He let his body relax and let his senses take over.

Shikamaru eyed the scene before him with annoyed disbelief, as Shino watched as well. "All that for just a stupid fish."

A smack upside the head made the mail-man lurch forward. "Who the hell–! Oh, hi, Ino."

"What he's doing for her is sweet – especially considering his condition!" the Yamanaka yelled. "But of course someone so callous as you could probably never understand."

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head as Ino stormed off, Sakura with her. He leaned on a post and crossed his arm, a little scowl on his features. _Damn, she always defends him..._

_That's it, you little bitch, come closer_, Sasuke thought. He knew the fish was close and it would only take a little while longer for it to be his – well, Hinata's. And it did come.

With just the right force, he brought the catcher up, and with it: the coveted fish. Hinata smiled happily and clasped her fingers together. She knew she was acting like a child, but with no one to reprimand her, she frankly didn't care.

"Ah!" Kakashi laughed and quickly captured the fish in its new home: a plastic bag. Sasuke allowed himself to don a satisfied smirk as he felt the bag plop into his hand. Kakashi grinned at the younger man. "Good job, Uchiha. Looks like you finally did it."

_How did he–!_

"A-Ah, th-thank you, S-Sasuke...san," Hinata said, faltering slightly. She wasn't sure as to whether or not she should've let the honorific drop. She had no idea why her face was getting all hot around Sasuke at the moment, but she just shook it off.

Kakashi smirked at the pair. _Just what is happening between those two? I don't think a certain person is going to like it. _But despite the doubting thought, he laughed silently.

"Oi, Hinata!" someone called. The feral voice just happened to belong to a certain birthday boy. The two turned the direction it came from, two different reactions. "We're going to the shrine to make wishes!"

"Alright!" the timid girl called, her voice barely carrying over the distance. Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed once more.

"Wishes?" he asked, slightly curious but not wanting to admit it. Hinata turned to Sasuke, somewhat surprised he didn't know what Kiba meant.

"Um, it's Tanabata Festival so that means we write our wishes down...then hang them on bamboo," she explained nicely, taking Sasuke's arm and walking where the rest of their friends were.

"...Oh," Sasuke replied articulately. Wish? What the hell did he have to wish for in life? Sasuke resisted the urge to scoff since he felt that Hinata really liked this part of the festival.

"Have fun, you two lovebirds!" Kakashi called, waving happily after him. Sasuke was about to jump the guy but Hinata stopped him, a blush left unseen on her cheeks.

* * *

People sat in various spots all around the shrine. School girls giggled about their own foolish wishes while serious ones sat in silence. Sasuke held the paper in his hands, unsure of what to wish for.

Hinata was beside him, apparently writing some wish of her own down. Somewhere not too far off he could hear Naruto idiotically laughing: "What kind of wish is that?"

"Oh yeah? Well, let's see yours," Kiba growled, snatching the small slip out of Naruto's hands. His blue eyes widened as he reached for it to gain it back.

"...This is shit," Kiba said, throwing the paper aside. Naruto scrambled to catch his paper before if fell to the ground and clutched it protectively to his chest.

"It is NOT shit," he said pouting. "A crate full of ramen falling out of the sky is completely possible.."

Sasuke rubbed his face. There wasn't really anything else he wanted in the world. Well, besides his sight back. But was this really the time to be selfish? Sasuke listened to Hinata silently.

"Hinata-san?" he asked her. The girl beside him jumped a little and she looked at him, secretly noting the honorific he put back. "What're you wishing for?"

Sasuke knew it was a little forward to ask, but hell, he wanted to know. And yes, it wasn't in his nature to be so damn nosy but Sasuke was blaming it on the pills.

Unknown to Sasuke, his little inquiry had made little Hinata blush terribly. The girl began to get very nervous but she tried not to let it seep into her voice. "N-Nothing i-I-important."

Sasuke snorted and Hinata winced. Oh yeah, he knew what she was probably wishing for. It was for that damned idiot, Naruto. He would've bet on it. _Naruto truly is a freaking idiot. How could he not notice Hinata's affections? She's much better than that annoying Dr. What's-Her-Name._ _She takes whatever chance she can to grope me._

"Hm," he simply replied. A thought suddenly struck him: Why was he so protective over his new friend? Hinata watched him as he 'looked down' at his own slip of paper.

"What are you wishing for?"

Sasuke was silent for a moment. What did he want? "I'm not sure."

There was rustling around him as Hinata stood up. "Um...Sasuke-san, is it all r-right if I go and hang my wish? I mean, is it all right if I leave you for a m-minute or two?"

Sasuke nodded, dismissing her worries. "Go on ahead. I'll be fine."

Hinata hovered a moment before smiling and nodding, hurriedly walking off. "Don't worry! I'll be right back!"

The Uchiha looked down at his paper again. An idea – a ridiculous one at that – popped into his mind. But, that was the only thing he could think of to use the paper, so he went with it. Sasuke whipped out the pen Hinata had offered him and, using his amazing skills which he acquired from various tutors, scribbled something down on the paper.

* * *

"Is everything all set to go?" Someone in the dark rustled, though the action made no sound at all.

"Yeah. All we need is for the comets to fucking come already. I'm bored out of my damn mind!"

"Tayuya, you should learn how to be patient...and watch your mouth."

"Shut the hell up, Jiroubu."

"Quiet," a sharp voice commanded. They did as ordered and sat still. Orders were being waited for as they watched the scene underneath them.

"We'll strike when the clouds come."

* * *

"Hurry up, Uchiha," Kiba said, looking back at the younger man. Sasuke grumbled some obscenities but made sure the birthday didn't hear.

A few more hours of happiness had passed – Sasuke had walked into two poles and tripped over three little children. The Uchiha hated his life at the present time. Not only did he feel people stare, but he heard Naruto guffawing like a donkey. Sasuke had been thinking a little too much again, and now it was making him into a laughing-stock.

His little trip-ups didn't stop girls from giggling at him. They whispered things along the lines of, "Aw, that's so cute! He trips like a boy," and, "Really? I think he's more of a debonaire guy 'cause of the blindfold." Sasuke grimaced at the new comments he was hearing about him. A little more than a month ago, he would've heard much better feedback than that.

Long story short, his pride was just a little bit castrated.

"S-Sasuke-san, I'm so sorry," Hinata apologized, coming up from behind. Instead of doing what Hinata asked of him, Sasuke had wandered around, ghost of the man he once was. "I must've taken so long and that's why you left..."

Sasuke was silent as she caught her breath – he could tell she had been running. "No, I'm just stubborn at times."

Hinata looked at Sasuke out of the corner of her eye. For the first time, she noticed what the blindfold did to his appearance. "Oh, it's all right. ...Why would you wait for me anyway?"

The Hyuga slowed and stopped in mid-stride and started to poke her fingers together. Sasuke stopped when he didn't feel her yukata against her arm, and turned around to find her. The masses of people walked by them like water as the two acted as rocks.

The young man didn't know particularly why, but this girl was actually making him feel guilty. There was seldom a time when the Uchiha Sasuke felt that feeling – sincerely, at least. Sasuke didn't know what to do – he had no idea how to comfort a melancholy woman!

His movements were awkward and jerky as he put a strong hand on her shoulder. When it came to physical contact involving anything but lust or anger, Sasuke was not an expert. He himself didn't like being touched on a regular basis. But Hinata was a friend, and those were more rare and important than women.

"...I would wait for you," he said to Hinata. The girl looked up in shock to find Sasuke's face tilted down, how it would be if he was looking right in her eyes. "I'm just... It's hard for me to, uh..."

Sasuke felt like slapping himself, now. _What the hell am I doing! Faltering in speech! What happened to the articulate sonuvabitch I used to know!_

"I don't wait very often...for many people...so I'm not used to it," he said, redeeming himself. "But...I think...I think..."

_Oh, just fucking say it already!_

"I think I could get used to waiting... For you, at least."

There – he said it. Now all that was left to do was to wait for her reaction. _Hell yeah – score! Uchiha Sasuke _is_ getting his groove back!_ Sasuke resisted the urge to smirk in satisfaction. He wasn't glad at the fact that he was saying to Hinata per say, it was more the fact that he was pulling lines off._ But, maybe she'll stay silent and I won't have to explain myself. How could I explain myself when I'm not even sure what I mean?_

Hinata simply felt weird. There was no other way to really describe it. Why was Sasuke saying this to her? Sure, she had kind of meant what she said about people waiting, but...he didn't have to say all those things. What did he mean, "For you, at least?" And why was it making her heart go all crazy?

Sasuke could be casually acknowledged as a good-looking young man by any woman, but that was as far as her affection in that way went. Hinata knew her heart really belonged to Naruto, so why was it disagreeing with her at the moment?

_It's all this...romantic Tanabata celebration, that's it. He's in a funny mood because of pills and I'm just dying of heart failure because the romance is choking me. Romance from other people and the story of Tanabata, of course!_

People watched the 'couple' as they stood in almost self-induced shock. They shared concise looks with one another as children giggled and pointed cutely.

"Oh honey, that's so sweet. Look at their faces," a lady said to her husband. The man smiled at his wife and squeezed her hand for emphasis.

Sasuke snapped out of his statuette reverie and focused his senses back on Hinata. She was still standing completely stiff, trying to figure out their situation. The young man tried to hide his embarrassment from being seemingly brushed off.

"Come on, Hinata," he muttered, and taking her hand, he followed the rest of the crowd. He really hadn't meant to grab her hand, but it was just his luck he miscalculated. The lack of eyesight can do that.

Hinata shakily stared at the large hand which was clasped around her smaller one. The grip was somewhat cold, and she couldn't help but wonder why.

Somewhere along the line she took charge again, but with just light tugs on the sleeves of Sasuke's yukata. They caught up to where the rest of the group was and were greeted with curious faces.

"The comets are about to meet. Where have you guys been?" Kiba asked, concerned about one of his best friends. Hinata gave him a smile of her own kind.

"We had t-to, um, go to the r-restroom," she replied. Oh dear, that didn't sound too safe. And apparently, the friends didn't think so either.

"Hinata-chan, you lucky girl," Sakura whispered, nudging the slightly younger girl. Though the doctor was a little jealous, she couldn't help but find the situation a little humorous. Ino joined in on Sakura's healthy teasing but sending Hinata a sly grin.

"D-Don't say things I-in such a s-suggestive way!" Hinata cried, fighting the urge to blush completely. Sadly, she was losing. Sasuke merely scoffed at the jealous women bust felt sympathetic for his friend.

"It's cloudy," Shikamaru said, looking up at the night sky. "...Good."

"What do you mean, 'good!' What if we don't get to see the comet?" Ino demanded, smacking the Nara lightly. The young man scowled and rubbed his abused arm.

"Don't worry!" he exclaimed, backing away from the blonde female. "If it covers anything, it'll mostly be the moon..."

Shino looked up at the sky, sun-glasses ever in tact. His own eyebrows furrowed slightly at the peculiarity.

* * *

"Ready to go, Tayuya?" a male's voice asked. The girl smirked evilly and shifted her glance over to the other three.

"Hell yeah," she said, adjusting her clothes. "You got the girl sighted?"

"Yes. She's down there with a group... What a loser – that guy has a blindfold," another named Kidoumaru laughed. He flexed his many arms in anticipation. "It'd be fun to play with him."

"Not now," someone said to the spider-guy. They turned to a pale man with light hair to his shoulders.

"Aw, Sakon, why can't we have a little fun?" Kidoumaru asked. He was silenced with a terrible glare.

"Business now, play later." And with that, they began their hunt.

* * *

"Here it comes!" Sakura cried, looking happily up toward the heavens. She was one of the first to spot the lovers, and everyone else's gazes went to copy her's.

There were to magnificent bodies of heaven coming towards each other. They gave off an ethereal light, providing that they really weren't of Earth. The Earth-bound people stared up in complete awe and glee.

"Sasuke-san, it's wonderful," Hinata said to her patient. The Uchiha stayed silent since he had no input to reply with.

"Aw, man!" he heard Naruto cry. Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He thought this was supposed to be fun.

"The clouds are starting to block our view," Hinata said quietly. Others pouted while Shikamaru smirked. He'd rather look at clouds than stars any day.

Sasuke heard murmurs of disdain and crossed his arms, tired from today's events. He really needed to get his muscles back – tired only from playing catching games and walking into hard things. That's baby stuff compared to what used to make him tired. Not only was he tired, but he wasted a day waiting for damn comets to come when he couldn't even see them!

Well, he didn't completely waste it... Sasuke had been able to spend a day with his friend, and share a bonding moment with her. Yeah, bonding, that's all it really was.

"S-Sasuke-san, it just suddenly became dark," Hinata said. Sasuke tried not to stiffen up as he felt Hinata instinctively come closer to him. He made no move to push her away, but he didn't make any move to comfort her either.

Kiba looked around him and smelled a strange scent floating about the clearing. His eyebrows furrowed and his nose sniffed the air suspiciously. Something wasn't right about the whole setting...and why was he the only one noticed it?

A vicious creature sprung out of the trees – are those four arms! – and Kiba's eyes widened. It was headed straight for Hinata.

"Hinata!" the aforementioned girl turned around and a shocked look overtook her countenance. Sasuke's eyebrows shot up as he finally felt the chakra coming near – it was the same as one of the Four!

Screams ring out through the place as Kidoumaru neared his target, a greedy look on his face. Kiba was already it the air, springing to save his best friend. He watched as he himself drew near, and so did the kunai that the creature clasped.

Hinata screamed as Kiba appeared before her. Kidoumaru's kunai had struck a shallow blow in his side while Kiba's normally docile claws sunk into the former man's shoulders. Sasuke covered Hinata as Kidoumaru cried out in rage.

"You insolent little fly! How dare you get in my way?" he shouted, making to hit the dog-boy. Kiba looked up at him – there was no way he was letting go until the other was dead.

"Kidoumaru!" someone called. He turned and saw Tayuya who was being countered by...Shikamaru! "Let's go! Our covers blown!" The tomboy looked VERY angry. Kidoumaru had to leave...NOW.

Naruto skid to a halt as a pale guy pushed him away. Why the hell were there arms and legs coming out of places they weren't supposed to be? The blonde grit his teeth as Sakura and Ino hid behind a stand. He was lucky no one was paying attention to him as he did weird things with his hands – people were running everywhere, trying to avoid the chaos but making some of their own.

"Let's go, Jiroubu! We won't need you this time," Sakon announced, jumping out of the way of Naruto's attack.

The four fled quickly, barely leaving a trace of them ever being there. Hinata came out from under Sasuke, looking for her other savior. Her eyes widened as the only thing she saw of him was a few droplets of blood.

Tears came from her eyes and Sasuke stopped, again lost as to what he should do. "Hinata-san, what happened?"

"K-Kiba-kun...," she cried, "He's gone..!"

This time, Sasuke put a another stiff hand on her shaking shoulder. He hung his head in shame – once again he was helpless, but this time he wasn't the only one involved. Just what the hell did they want?

A cold wind had taken over the shrine, blowing various wishes off of the bamboo. An attendant looked at two closest to the bamboo, and picked them up. One was written in a woman's writing:

"_I wish for someone to make me truly happy."_

The other one was written with a man's penmanship:

"_I don't wish for anything else but Hinata's happiness."_

**Author's Note:** Well, what did you guys think? This chapter was a lot longer than I thought it was going to be... Too much fluff? ...I was feeling in a slightly romantic mood, but I'm not sure if you readers like it. You guys are probably thinking it's too early, huh? ...I'm sorry!

And contrary to popular belief: I LOVE Sasuke-kun! I don't know...maybe...it's just fun using him lol.

As of now, I don't know what's coming next in this story. I have an idea of something happening in the future...but for the next chapter...?

Anyways, thanks for reading and please don't forget to review!


	5. The BFF and the Medics

A/n: Hey everyone! Thanks so much for all the reviews! I really appreciate all the input I got. I'm glad that the fluff wasn't too much. This chapter shows how much a best friend means to a girl and gives insight on Sasuke's recover. Sincere apologies if it's boring. Questions answered below!

Claim: My plot.

_Sasuke couldn't stand it anymore. She didn't know it, but he could hear her crying in the other room. He heard her whenever she stepped out of his room or when she went to bed at night. Hinata seemed to cry more than she stuttered nowadays..._

_And it was all his fault._

The Heir  
Chapter Five  
The BFF and the Medics

He shifted in his bed, not finding any comfortable position to be in. Hinata's cries were bouncing around in his head and there was nothing he could do to stop them. He knew that the Hyuga had been trying to suppress her dismal feelings but for sure it wasn't working.

It had been a week or so since Kiba was last seen, and Hinata still hadn't gotten over that fact. Part of Sasuke wanted to tell her to get over it, while the other one felt sympathetic. It was, after all, his fault.

Sasuke grit his teeth as the harsh reality came crashing into him – again. He had blamed himself many times and even ruminated whether or not to tell Hinata that.

If only he hadn't been slow. If only he hadn't been weak. If only he had sensed them earlier. All these were things, if done, would have prevented the kidnaping of Kiba.

He knew Inuzuka was Hinata's best friend. Well, one of them at least. He could hear it in the way she talked about him and how often, too. Sasuke knew that Kiba felt the same way. But for some reason, the feeling that the feral youth gave off was a little different that Hinata's friendly vibes.

_Dumbass, _Sasuke cursed at himself. He wished for her happiness, and now she was in her room crying. That's one reason why he _never _wished for anything. The one time he tries to go with the flow – it blows up in his face!

A cool wind blew in from the far window, cooling Sasuke's face along with his emotions. This was the whole reason why he never got caught up in emotion: someone always gets hurt.

* * *

Hinata sniffled and wiped away another stray tear. She was sitting on her bed, white sheets strewn about her. Her eyes were blotchy and swollen but her lavender-tinted orbs were set on something in her pale, but gentle, hands. It was smiling up at her and Hinata couldn't help but think about who it reminded her of.

Kiba had made the little dog for her. He had spent weeks cutting and sewing the pieces together, which was a feat in all itself considering his patience. Hinata knew she shouldn't have been crying so much, even though her best friend was now MIA, but she couldn't help but let it go at night.

Another tear fell onto the personified dog in her grip. She wiped the liquid away and sighed. She tried really hard – she really did – but she cried every night. The authorities were out searching the best the could, and she knew that. Even so, they couldn't find a single trace, and that really distressed the Hyuga.

She also felt bad because it seemed that Sasuke was starting to take notice. Though he was blind, she was sure he could hear her at times. There were moments when she couldn't hold it anymore and had to step out of his bedroom. She cursed herself for being too weak – emotionally_ and _physically.

"_Whenever I'm not there, Hinata, just talk to Inu-kun," Kiba said. Standing at his full height, the eight year old beamed down at his delicate friend. Hinata stared at the little token in her hand – it almost covered her whole palm._

"_Th-Thank you, Kiba-kun," she said, completely in awe. She blushed at how cute the little gift was and promised to never lose it. "I-I'll keep it for a-always.."_

"_Good!" Kiba said, holding up his bandaged hands and fingers. Inuzuka still held a grin though. "All that sewing really hurted."_

_Hinata gave a shy smile at her friend of three years. Though they had known each other for so long, she still wasn't used to him being so nice. She wondered just why he was so benevolent to her. To everyone else he could be like a doggie but to her...it was different._

"_Come on, Hinata-chan," Kiba said, slinging a casual arm around Hinata's smaller shoulders. The girl winced at a hidden bruise he accidentally touched. "Let's go get some ice cream!"_

Hinata lay down on her right side, staring out at the full moon glowing through her window. It could've served as a beacon for her, if only her darkness wasn't so deep. The young woman hiccupped and took one last sigh as she wiped at her cheeks. Kiba was always there to comfort her, but who would be there now?

Hinata stared at Inu-kun who stared back at her, eyes forever unblinking. One of the brother figures in her life was suddenly gone, but she was going to try and be strong. There was no way Kiba would have wanted her to act like a sniveling...girly-girl.

The wind that blew threw her wide, open window made the curtains dance, reminding her of the way Kiba used to mess around with her.

(The Long Flashback Scene)

Hinata sighed tiredly. She had no idea why she had agreed to that stupid dance. Maybe it was because Kiba told her it would be fun – but it was far from that. While he, the party animal of the school, rocked away, she leaned against the wall and stared at the very interesting floor.

Sure, Kiba had tried to make her dance a few times, but she embarrassedly refused. There was no way she was going to humiliate herself in front of so many...people.

The girl was home now and she was glad, too. Sometimes Hinata liked her silence and alone time. She was more the type to ruminate about life than to actually go out and live it.

Hinata just moved into her older cousin's house and needless to say – he was kind of scary. She appreciated what he and his family did for her, but he was just plain creepy at times. He would stare at her like he could see in her soul, and Hinata was really more of a private person.

Giving a shaky smile, the twelve year old walked by her thirteen year old cousin. He simply nodded and went on his way, probably going to train for SHINOBI. He was the top in his age class, after all, and he had a reputation to uphold.

Hinata sat in her room, doing her homework. Contrary to popular belief, she would have much rather been staring down Neji. The good grades didn't come easy and Hinata sometimes suffered for them. The Hyugas were known for their academic excellence, though, so she was obligated to do well.

"Oi, Hinata-chan," someone called, the person standing in her doorway. Hinata swivelled around to see Kiba with Akamaru lounging on his head.

"Hello, Kiba-kun," she greeted, another shaky smile donning her face. "W-What brings you here?"

"Why didn't you dance earlier?" Kiba demanded, frowning at his friend. He was hoping that little social gathering would've let Hinata have more fun with other people, but all she did was stand around.

"O-Oh, um, I-I didn't w-want t-t-to in f-front of all th-those p-p-people," Hinata admitted, blushing and stuttering furiously. Kiba sighed and shook his head, Akamaru barking lightly on top of him.

"You shouldn't worry about what all those people think," Kiba said, walking over to her bed and sitting on it. Akamaru jumped down from his perch and made himself comfortable on the mattress. Kiba stroked his pet's fur in rare contemplation. "I don't care."

Hinata wrung her hands nervously. She knew he didn't, but it was different for her. Kiba was a natural at being rambunctious, therefor, he was more out-going and better at making friends. Hinata had been silent for most of the first years of her life so she was a little deprived of the friend-making skills taught when young.

"I-I wanted to...d-dance, but never i-in front o-of p-people," she confessed, looking down at the hands in her lap.

"Come on then." Kiba suddenly stood up, surprising the Hyuga. She stared at him wide-eyed, hoping to God he didn't mean what she thought he meant. "If you didn't want to in front of all those people, why don't we do it here? Akamaru's gonna be the only one around."

At this, his little dog barked and wagged his tail.

"Oh, n-no, it's q-quite a-a-alright," Hinata said, holding her hands up and backing away in her rolling chair. Kiba crossed his arms and frowned, eyebrows furrowing.

"Hinata," he said, walking over to her, his steps making thumps on the hard wood floor. "Let's dance."

Kiba hit a button on a radio as he passed it by and a mellow tune leaked from the mechanical box. Hinata's eyes were shut in fright as she tried to curl into a small ball. She had always danced in her own room, alone, but she didn't think she was ready to do so with another person – even if it was her brother figure.

The Inuzuka had always been a bit rough, and this time wasn't any different. He took Hinata's wrist, though more gently than he would've with anyone else, and hoisted her up. The girl was still burning and Kiba frowned.

"Come on, it's only me," he said softly. Hinata's eyes opened at his change of tone but she didn't look up at his mahogany eyes. She felt like an embarrassed and ruffled six year old.

Grudgingly though, she relented and started to sway with Kiba. She really didn't want to be doing this. She didn't care how nice her friend was being at the moment, either.

Hinata knew she was lying. She appreciated what he was doing for her, and laughed when he twirled her around.

Pretty soon, it turned to just messing with the music, and bouncing around the room, giggling all the way. Akamaru joined them soon, and the three proceeded to flounce, their mind-sets being those of three year olds.

Flopping on the bed, the twelve year olds let out hearty laughs. Well, Kiba's was louder than Hinata's tinkling voice, but that didn't matter. They looked at each other as Akamaru continued to hop around the bed.

"You know," Kiba started, shifting his gaze so that it was on Hinata's high ceiling, "These are the kind of times that grown-ups look at and laugh.

"Someday, when we're older, I want you to laugh. If I'm ever gone, that's what I want you to do. Don't cry and don't mope. Just...laugh."

Hinata stared at her friend in concern. Why was he acting so weird? "K-Kiba-kun, what's w-wrong?"

Kiba smiled and shook his head. He stretched and put his hands behind his head. "Nothing. Today just made me realize something, that's all."

The girl continued to stare at the peculiar dog-boy, and even though he told her not to worry, she did just that. Little did they both know, the kid was doing a little foreshadowing.

(End)

Hinata stared at Inu-kun for a little while longer before she gave a teary laugh. She just hoped her brother was all right. But the girl sniffled one last time, promising herself she wouldn't cry for him anymore. It was the least she could do while he was away.

She had someone else to take care of, too. Sasuke was becoming an important friend, even though the guy hardly gave her any information about himself. That was fine to Hinata though, since he had started to talk present things more often. From that step, Hinata hoped that he would open up; sometime in the future.

The girl snuggled Inu-kun slightly, breathing in the scent of ten years (he'd been washed a few times, of course). Her eyes slowly closed and Hinata fell into the most comfortable sleep she'd had for a week.

* * *

A young man yawned, widely opening his mouth and revealing pearly whites. He never had really been a morning person, and that trait hadn't changed. _Why_ he chose to become a nurse was way beyond him. The title alone was something to make him the butt of the guys' jokes.

"Naruto, where are you?" Sakura called, walking through the halls. The young man yawned again before replying:

"I'm in your office..."

Sakura kicked the door open, carrying a large box full of her work. Naruto gave her a lazy glance as she walked to her own desk. She pushed Naruto's slumping form out of her chair, him giving no defiance. The young man stretched out on the carpeted floor, perfectly content on finding peace where he was. The pink-haired woman rolled his eyes and picked his larger form up.

"Naruto, I've been meaning to ask you something," she started, sitting him down on the guests' chair. She proceeded to sit in her own leather one. Naruto smirked sleepily.

"Sure, I'll go out with you."

Sakura gave the nurse a dead-pan glare and decided that it would be too easy to insult the guy. So, she passed up that opportunity and straightened the papers Naruto had disarrayed.

"Thanks, but no thanks," she replied dryly, starting to put her new work on her table. "Actually, I was going to ask you where you learned how to fight like that."

Naruto's eyes opened and looked at Sakura. The girl was ignoring his stare as she continued to be organized. "I mean, Kiba was taken away by that spider guy, and he was one of the stars on the high school martial arts team. You handled that weird pale guy much easier."

Sakura stopped her cleaning and locked eyes with Naruto. The blonde seemed calm, a complete reciprocal of himself when he was younger. Sakura was as straight-forward as ever. "Who are you really?"

Naruto sighed and fixed his posture in the chair, but kept the same attitude that was only his. "So, I got bullied when I was younger. What's the big deal?"

Sakura pursed her lips and frowned at his answer. It was too vague for her to determine anything from. The doctor sighed and decided to let it go – for now.

"No, really!" Naruto said, obviously taking her sigh as a sign of disbelief. "I don't know... When I was younger, no one really liked me, so they were really...mean."

Sakura's eyes softened momentarily as Naruto's gaze dropped to the floor. _He must've had a bad childhood..._ The doctor decided to drop it.

"Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about Sasuke-kun, too," Sakura said, changing the subject and adding a certain honorific. Naruto brooded slightly at her cooing but he let her continue. "It's about any operations to get his eyesight back."

"But his case is different, isn't it?" Naruto asked, tilting his head. Sakura glanced at him before nodding her head.

"He lost two kinds of sight," she replied as a matter of fact. "The regular human kind and the Sharingan. It'll be complicated to do an operation on his eyes because of that."

"His eye is more complex than that of any other's," Naruto said, comparing himself to Sakura in his tone. "Hey, that sounded pretty smart, huh?"

Sakura rolled her eyes, in good nature, but nodded. "If he had only the Sharingan restored, he'd still be an efficient fighter, but in normal life he would only see blurry outlines of a person."

"If he had only regular sight, then he might never be able to restore the Sharingan again. It would still be injured and...yeah...," Naruto said, ending his articulate run. "It would be hard for a fighter to be deprived of their greatest – what's it called? -- asset."

"Well, I have propositions from a few surgeons but none can restore both," Sakura said, shuffling through her various papers. "Of course, even _I _can do a simple operation of one or the other."

"I know you could, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, standing up. "But how are we going to convince Sasuke you won't kill him?"

"I'd rather kill you," Sakura replied. Naruto faked a hurt expression as the doctor continued. "We'll just have to give him the options, is all."

"If I were him, I'd choose regular sight," Naruto said. Sakura raised an eyebrow at his words.

"But if you _were _Sasuke-kun, you'd be obsessed with fighting."

"True, BUT," Naruto said, putting up a finger. He walked to the door, preparing to leave. "_I _would want to see the face of my caretaker. Hinata-chan _is_ pretty cute."

And with a grin, he waltzed out, getting ready to prepare for the July day while adjusting his orange scrubs. Sakura glared at the spot where Naruto once stood and shook her head. Why did she suddenly feel a little jealous?

Fine, Sakura would grudgingly admit it. Naruto was cute – even with his charming little canines and marks on his cheeks. Inner Sakura laughed as Sakura died from poisoned thoughts. There was something about the boyish charm he gave off that made her so annoyed, yet so...amused.

She didn't admit that she had feelings for the guy – heaven forbid, she did – but there was something about him that made her laugh. Either making fun of him or laughing at his antics, most of the time she ended up laughing. And that was a feeling that made her happy.

Not to mention, it helped her lose weight.

But Sasuke-kun was great, although he didn't talk to her much. Sakura just thanked her lucky stars that _she _was the doctor that got to check that god-like body of his. She reveled in the envious looks she received from the other female doctors.

Both Sakuras squealed at the thought and swooned. Yes, he was coming along very nicely. No deep scars or permanently fractured bones. Now, the only thing he needed to be perfect once more was his eyesight restored.

Memories of a dream from the previous night she had flooded into her mind. There were the three of them: Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. With them was that one goldfish vendor from Tanabata Festival and he was their sensei or something. All three of them were good at fighting and Sasuke even had red eyes, also known as the Sharingan. The weird thing was that they were all a few years younger and wearing some weird clothes. She would've died if she was stuck wearing that today.

Sakura snapped out of her reverie. _Yeah, as if something like that could ever happen.

* * *

_

**Author's Note:** Thanks a lot for reading you guys! This chapter was mostly giving Hinata's point of view on Kiba's situation. And no, there's no romantic feelings on Hinata's side either. ...Or is there? Haha. She's just remembering the good times she had with her 'brother.'

And this is the first time I've focused on Sakura and Naruto in this fic. Sorry if Sakura seems a little mean, but Naruto can handle her banters. I'm not really so big on this pairing, so I might not even have them get together...

**Kenshinlover2002:** I took a class on the Japanese culture two years ago, and I was taught that Tanabata Matsuri (festival) happened on the seventh day of the seventh month. So, I don't know about other authors but that's my day and I'm going to keep using it.

And to **DeityofRoses: **What does IMO mean? I'm sorry! I'm soooo deprived lol.

Anyway, please review! It's what motivates me to keep writing! And no flames! Did you guys notice how fast I updated? Haha. I notice it was shorter than the last chapter, but...whatever. Lol. I was trying to get ten reviews for each chapter so that I would have fifty by the time I have five chapters up, but, oh well.

Oh yeah, if anyone is willing, I'd like to get a beta-reader to beta this. Sometimes it's hard for me to find mistakes 'cause of my eyes. So, if anyone would like to...um...just let me know!


	6. Marks

A/n: Did I update too fast last time? Lol. To those of you who reviewed, thanks a bunch! I LOVE all of your reviews! Sakura's little dream was just a hint of coincidence, is all. Warning: there's cussing in this chapter. And OOCness. I'm sorry. Lol.

Claim: My plot.

The Heir  
Chapter Six  
Marks

He could feel the legs of a chair bound to his own stiff ones. His body felt as if he had just been run over my a lawn mower. Kiba's eyes were closed with a blindfold but he wouldn't have wanted to see his own body anyway. His pride would probably be like a certain Uchiha's was when he saw his beloved physique.

How long had it been? Something inside told him it had been about a week; maybe more. His sadistic captors had been torturing him everyday, waiting for a chance for him to break like a fragile glass. They had fed Kiba, sure. But once, they made him eat and said it was his own precious dog he was downing. After that meal he had thrown everything up and didn't eat for a few meals.

Kiba felt a hateful feeling take home in his body. They absolutely had no compassion whatsoever. It was like they weren't even human.

And he didn't even want to think about why they were targeting Hinata. Kiba was only here to seemingly serve as a toy for that guy, Kidoumaru, who wanted revenge from the own wounding he took. The Inuzuka grit his teeth at the pain which embraced him every time he breathed.

The only reason why he wanted to live was because of a certain Hyuga. The last thing he saw before he fell into a fitful sleep was her face and it was the first thing he pictured when he awoke. There were days were he wished he was in heaven–or hell, where ever he was supposed to end up–but he always continued breathing.

But where was everyone? Weren't there supposed to be people searching for him about now? Kiba wanted to hope that they hadn't forgotten about him. Hinata would have said that was a silly idea. Of course they were looking for him. But he had been imprisoned for a while now and there hadn't been a trace of anything...

A door opened and he heard light and limber steps padding on the floor. Kiba's nose twitched as if it had a life of its own. It was the girl–Tayuya, or something or other. She was possibly one of the most crude–if not _the_–crudest woman he had ever met in his life.

If he could, he would've spat in her face. But something about holding on to the only bit of gentlemanly traits he had restrained him. He hated that fact. Nothing ever stopped her from mistreating him. The young woman's mouth seriously needed a cleaning because it was even dirtier than Kiba's own callous one.

A sharp yank of his hair snapped Kiba from his thoughts as his blindfold was roughly ripped from his eyes. His pupils dilated painfully and his teeth bared at the pain from the small window high on the wall. He saw her figure smirking down at her, her mouth dancing with sadistic glee.

"It's chow time, mutt," Tayuya remarked, indicating the bowl held in her left hand. Kiba shifted his gaze to the piece of work and snorted, turning his head as he did so. The girl's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance and she cuffed him on his cheek, pushing his face up to look at her.

"You may be Kidoumaru's pet but I can just as easily end your life as well," she warned, eyes gleaming dangerously. Kiba calmly stared up at the edgy female before baring his feral canines to her.

"Bite me."

Silent as ever, Tayuya struck him once more, this time sending the young man toppling to his side. Kiba was soundless as well – there was no way this girl was going to make him whimper.

A sandal was pressed against his right ear and some pressure was applied, making his head compress slightly against the concrete floor. He could feel her sole vibrating from the restraint it took her to not end his life on the spot.

"You have no idea how hard it is to not squash your puny, little, shitty head right now," Tayuya hissed, clenching her free hand into a fist. Kiba chuckled in spite of the danger he was obviously in.

"Humor me, babe."

Tayuya cried out in rage and was about to stomp out his fire, but held herself back. Instead, she threw the metal bowl down on him. The small object made a sound as it collided with Kiba's head and spilled its contents all over him. The Inuzuka, instead of voicing any pain, voiced his delight.

"Hey, this crap ain't half bad," he remarked dryly, licking the area around his mouth. Tayuya glared down at him and kicked the young man in the stomach, ending the patronizing chuckles.

"Fine, if you don't want to eat, it's not my damn fault," she said, sneering down at Kiba. Her eyes grazed over his dirtied tattoos. "You think you're the shit, just 'cause you have those crap marks on your face."

Kiba snorted again, but a small, prideful smirk was pulling at his lips. He twisted his upper body in a way so that his face turned up to look at Tayuya. "You obviously don't know what these mean."

From the tone his voice had taken, it was apparently something for Kiba to be smug about. The young woman glared at him, but cursed her curious side, which almost always got her in trouble. She had gotten over it by the time she had reached puberty, but old habits always die hard.

"What do they mean then?" she Tayuya demanded, putting a fist on her right hip. Kiba sighed and seemed to recall some fond memory.

"In my clan, certain marks on your face means you have reached adulthood," he started, laughing inwardly. "It means that I'm a man and am no longer a virgin."

Tayuya kicked Kiba again in disgust. How dare he discuss like that in front of her? Though it didn't seem so, she couldn't stand anything involving "PDA." She could use certain curse words involving such acts, but could never stomach any even _semi_-serious talks.

"What kind of bullshit is that?" she shouted, kicking Kiba again. The Inuzuka gave a phlegm-filled laugh, then grimaced in pain.

"Don't get...too excited," he joked. The young woman was tempted to whip out her flute, but simply exhaled slowly. She exited the hotel suite (one that Kiba didn't know he was in), and fumed.

The nerve of the guy! Who the hell did he think he was? As Tayuya stalked down a well lit hotel hallway, she knocked everything and anything out of her way. The young woman created a hole in a wall as an employee hurriedly scampered by. She made her way to Kidoumaru's room and knocked loudly. Impatiently, she almost ripped the door off of it's hinges.

"Kidoumaru!" she raged, glaring at the startled spider, "You better finish of that little son of a bitch before I do!"

"Calm down, he's not doing anything anyway," the man opposite replied. "It's fun to have a little toy. Especially if it's the best friend of a target."

"On my list, the mutt _is_ a target," Tayuya warned. "He's a target that's about to get hit, if you know what I mean."

"Calm down, Tayuya," someone said, trying to assuage the tiny, raging woman. The other two turned to the massive man standing in Kidoumaru's doorway.

Jiroubu almost _always_ served as the peacemaker in any of the Four's spats. Contrary to popular belief, he was one of the calmest of the group. Tayuya glared up at him and Kidoumaru did the same, though not as viciously.

"Let Kidoumaru take care of him. It's his job anyway," Jiroubu said. The woman rolled her eyes at the spider who, in turn, waved a nonchalant hand. He relaxed on back onto his mattress, now that Jiroubu was here.

"Fine, I'll take care of the mutt. But I'm not gonna kill him. It's fun to mess with his head," he said, taking a bite of a doughnut he had in his grasp.

Tayuya sent another glare his way and took the nearest thing to her–which was the television–and threw it at him. It crashed into the wall, creating a huge dent that would obviously need fixing. Kidoumaru yelped and jumped away from the numerous white sparks and gave Tayuya a crazed look. Before he could say anything the little woman stormed out of his room to enter her own. A loud crash and a shake in the walls signified that the beast was indeed in her chamber.

Jiroubu and Kidoumaru exchanged creeped-out glances. After a bit of silence and poking at the broken television, the latter of the mentioned men snorted.

"Looks like it's her time of the month."

"Shut up."

* * *

A huge, technologically-wise room buzzed with inhabitants. They were all obviously busy with something. There was yelling across the way and jumping over desks. A certain long-haired young man took a sip of his black coffee. He rubbed his eyes and rubbed his left upper-arm in thought.

For sleepless _days_ they had been searching for Kiba. It was like whoever took him didn't even exist. Neji took another gulp of his drink, hoping to completely wash away his drowsiness.

He supposed he should really keep at it for Hinata's sake. He never really did her anything special–if this was considered special–so he thought he'd repay her. Even though he was pretty distant, he still cared about his little cousin. Seeing her so sad all the time was bound to get him to break soon enough.

"Neji-sama!"

The Hyuga whipped around, cold eyes staring down at some unimportant co-worker. The mentioned young man bowed hurriedly and Neji nodded.

"Have you gotten anything on Inuzuka's location?" he asked, starting to walk with the smaller person. He, in turn, shook his head.

"No, sir, but we have some information on who might have been involved with kidnaping Inuzuka-san," he compensated.

The two came to a huge computer screen where a woman was typing furiously, eyes concentrated on the plasma rectangle. Neji glanced at her, then at the projecting device.

"What do we have?"

A picture of a serpentine man almost immediately popped up, and they stared at the picture for a millisecond. A few more windows followed suit and the young woman started to talk.

"This man's name is simply in the database as Orochimaru," she said. "Supposedly, he used to be in SHINOBI, but after some power-hungry craze, he fled."

"You mean that this is the Orochimaru that killed The Third?" Neji asked.

The Third was the leader of their organization until a few years ago. Neji wasn't in SHINOBI yet, so all he had heard was stories of the greatest infiltration missions in Konoha. Someone had taken over for a small moment before that person fled as well. But Neji ignored that other information altogether. The young woman nodded, confirming his suspicion.

"Yes," she replied. "He's the only ninja to ever do something so horrible–and escape from SHINOBI alive.

"He was said to be dead, but sources prove that the person these four last worked under–," at this, she showed the other windows, "was Orochimaru himself."

Neji was silent a moment before nodding. "Start to track down everywhere he's been in the last five years. I want to know more about those certain four as well." At that, he nodded to the screen.

"The four are ninjas with high talent, each with a strange specialty," the girl said. "And each has a hidden power which makes them practically invincible."

Neji started to walk away, information still fresh in his mind, when the girl called after him. He turned around and waited for her to speak. "What is it, Temari?"

The blonde absently scratched the leaf tattoo on her left upper-arm, and glanced back at the screen. "I've already done searches on Orochimaru–five times. He's as good as a ghost."

"Search again," Neji commanded. "A ghost is better than nothing."

* * *

It was a leaf. A black leaf–slightly round in its creation. Hinata shamelessly stared at for a second, then blushed and looked away.

Sasuke sat on his bed, finally getting used to being blind. The young man was somewhat strangely seated though–his front was to where the pillows were. He was wrapping his arms carefully with cotton, though he didn't know why. He wasn't going to be getting into any fights soon–if he was lucky–so what was the use of preparing for one?

Hinata sneezed from her seated place near the open window. The Uchiha snorted to himself and shook his head. Even her sneezes were timid.

Sasuke had just gotten out of the shower a while ago, so his back was still shirtless. Using his senses, he hardly groped around for his wife-beater. Why people called that certain piece of clothing that, he had no flipping idea.

He felt the cotton slide over his skin and shrugged his shoulders to adjust the shirt's position. When he was satisfied, he reached out for a shirt but found it out of his reach. His eyebrows furrowed and Hinata finally snapped out of her reverie to walk over to his mattress.

She didn't know what was wrong with her. First she had set his shirt out too far, and then she was slightly...staring at Sasuke-san. She tried to look away–really, she did–but something about him made her so transfixed. The tattoo caught her eye and she immediately knew what it was.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, and handed Sasuke his shirt. Unbeknownst to him, it was a white, button-up shirt. She felt a little bad at not telling him it wasn't his usual preference of navy-blue or black, but she thought he wouldn't mind.

Sasuke took the shirt in his hands and held it for a while. Hinata began to get nervous that he deduced the shirt was light-colored, but he started to slip it on. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she replied quietly. The tattoo was still bothering her. Maybe if she went about it subtly...

"U-Um, Sasuke-san, c-can I ask a q-question?"

Oh darn it, she stuttered.

Sasuke was silent himself, and seemed to consider his options. Finally he snorted his consent.

"E-Er, that ta-tattoo on your arm... W-What's it for?" she finally asked. Sasuke's right hand went to the very place it was at and smirked slightly.

"It's to let people know not to mess with me," he said. Hinata's eyes widened only slightly. Was he trying his hand at humor?

Sasuke almost smacked himself at the stupid snippet, and told her the real reason: "It's a mark of someone part of SHINOBI. Konoha's symbol is the leaf."

Hinata continued to peek at the little mark. Something so small was a symbol of something so great and powerful. Now that she thought about it, she had seen the very same tattoo on Neji's own arm. The male Hyuga was never caught not properly dressed, but there was one time where his short sleeve had ridden up in haste to catch things TenTen had been throwing at him. Hinata absently handed Sasuke his white socks while the Uchiha reached for them. His hand brushed her's, and she was brought back to reality.

He put on his socks as if nothing had happened. Hinata wanted to poke herself on the forehead. Of course he was acting like that. Nothing _did_ happen! The girl felt her warm face and shook her head. Something was definitely wrong with her.

Sasuke shakily stood up and shrugged, slightly facing the wrong direction. Hinata stood up as well and smiled at her little Ken. Along with his different shirt, he was wearing black cargo shorts and some kind of tennis shoes. She had to admit, it looked as if he was going to kick butt with his wrappings.

"Naruto-san and Sakura-san are going to be coming over to talk to you about restoring your vision," Hinata said, clasping her hands in front of her. Sasuke casually pocketed his hands–but not before adjusting his blindfold. He had gotten used to the idea of wearing one after a while.

"Hn," he said. "Just as long as she doesn't touch me. I don't want her hands in any places I can't see."

Hinata didn't know if he meant that to be funny as well, but she couldn't help but let a light laugh escape. Her hand flew to her mouth in a horrified manner but Sasuke didn't say anything, so she relaxed.

"I can't wait until I can see again. I've had enough of being in a permanent dark," Sasuke said, poking at something with his foot. It was a rare mood to have Sasuke in, but Hinata liked it most when he confided in her. Though those moments were rare to none, she rather enjoyed them.

"I suppose it wouldn't be very f-fun," she said, going to sit on the Uchiha's bed. It sank beneath her weight but she took no notice. "There would be no light to guide you."

A memory of Hinata's laugh invaded Sasuke's ears for only a milli-second, but he nodded. "It's pretty hard."

Being distracted, he made to sit down, barely missing poor Hinata's lap. Her eyes had widened but now they relaxed and she sighed, looking out the window to the hot July.

"Hinata," Sasuke started, "You like Naruto, right?"

At this, the girl almost fell off the bed. Her face burned immediately and she couldn't even stutter an explanation. Sasuke waited, an amused smirk on his fine lips, as Hinata regained her composure.

"W-Where did y-you hear th-th-that?" she asked him, trying her best to stay calm. The young man shook his head, a quiet laugh seeping from his throat.

"No where," he replied easily, "The way you sound around him and your reaction just now is proof enough."

Hinata couldn't say anything to defend herself, so she just settled to stare at her pale hands that were placed in her lap. Sasuke had his face pointing straight ahead of him and remained quiet himself.

"It's alright. I won't tell anyone," Sasuke assuaged. He casually crossed his arms. "That's what friends are for..."

Hinata started a little when Sasuke suddenly smacked his forehead. She stared and blinked, timidly reaching out a hand to his shoulder. "A-Are you okay?"

_What the hell am I saying? _Friends?_ I'm quoting some cheesy-ass song and I'm not gagging. Now I know it must be a cold day in hell._

He sighed and nodded. After massaging his brow, his hand detached from his head. "Just tell Sakura not to give me so much drugs when she comes here. They're going to have permanent damage."

"You can just tell me now," Sakura said, standing in Sasuke's doorway. Naruto was behind her and he waved happily. Hinata waved shakily and Sasuke did nothing. "I can tell you that whatever is happening to you, is simply just you. My medicine is all organic and just _can't_ cause any behavioral or emotional effects."

_Thanks,_ Sasuke thought, _There goes my only blame. Maybe I really am going crazy. Then what's been making me act weird since I've been taking those damn drugs?_

"I think you're probably just mental," Naruto said, leaning against the mantel of the fireplace. Sasuke glared at the spot where he thought the blonde was, which wasn't too far off.

"Well, Sasuke-kun, we have a preposition for you to consider," Sakura said, pacing in front of him. The doctor kindly glanced at Hinata, who looked down shyly. "Since it's near your birthday, Hinata-chan here wanted to give you a little present."

Sasuke's head snapped to his right, where Hinata was sitting. Though his eyes were hidden, she couldn't help but shrink a little. She resolved to start poking her fingers together, and stuttering.

"I'm sorry, I-I found from y-your records that your b-b-birthday is July twenty-third, so I just wanted to make you feel better," she hurriedly said. Naruto watched her from where she was and smiled at her antics.

"How did you get my records?" Sasuke demanded. Hinata shrunk a little again, but found her voice.

"...Neji-nii-san gave them to me."

Sasuke sighed. Leave it to the Hyuga male to not trust him. But, Sasuke had to admit, that was probably more in the beginning.

"...Thanks," he stubbornly muttered. The other three looked at him and the medics grinned.

As Sakura started to explain his situation, Sasuke tuned out. He could understand her by half listening. But when he was paying attention to was his feelings towards Hinata–and her feelings towards himself.

_Why would she give anything like this to me? If I were her, I wouldn't have... But I guess I'm not. ...I wish I was, so I could know what the hell she's thinking!_

Sasuke listened to the other three laugh, and found himself chuckling as well. _Shit. I think I _am_ going crazy.

* * *

_

Author's Note: I hope you all liked this chapter. Sorry I haven't updated. School's over where I am today, so this is the celebration. Stupid finals! Anyways, please review! Thanks a bunch for reading!

**NarutosGirl52:** Because you're wondering, I'm fifteen years of age. Well, almost. June twenty-first is my birthday! YES... I know I'm old, but please, no jokes. Lol, jk jk.

**Audriel:** Yeah, Neji is kind of like my Touya in my CCS fic, just not as loud. Haha, what I coincidence, eh?

Once again, please review! They can be my (early) birthday presents! Bwahahahah!


	7. Suddenly

Enpitsu: Thanks for the reviews everyone! You know, I was looking at my stats and hits and whatnot, and I noticed the amount of my hits for this fic are more than twice as much as my reviews. I'm not mad or whatever, but I was like, wtf! Lol. I didn't even know many people read this fic. I think this chapter might turn out longer than the last one, so...be prepared. Anyways, responses and explanations (which, I think, are much needed for this chapter) are down at the bottom!

Warnings: OOCness. 'Nuff said.

Claim: My plot.

"_Alright, Sasuke-kun, when you awake you'll see the result of your choice," Sakura said brightly. She put on her doctor's mask and held her hands up in front of her. "Er, actually in a week, but you know what I mean..."_

"_Good luck," bid Naruto. Though Sasuke couldn't see his grin, he could tell it was there from the sound of his voice._

_The Uchiha stayed silent while his eyelids started to become heavy. They couldn't close though, since they were held open with some tool. Sasuke's eyes finally lolled back, and he fell into a drug-induced sleep._

Chapter Seven  
Suddenly

Hinata sat at home, alone. She was sitting at her desk, seemingly reading an ivory colored book. But at closer inspection, one could see that Hinata's eyes weren't moving from a single spot on the page. They weren't really settled on a specific word, but her thoughts were concentrated on a certain someone.

The young woman sighed, thinking back to when the two medics had visited.

Flashback

"And that's why it's so difficult," Sakura finished, having just explained to Sasuke that he had two types of sight. The young man stayed silent for a second or two.

"So you're giving me an ultimatum," he stated, instead of asked. Sakura frowned slightly and nodded apologetically.

"It's the only way. There's no one alive that can do both operations at once," she explained. Sakura glanced at Naruto who nodded. "The only one who could was your mother..."

Sasuke stiffened at the mention of the only woman he had ever loved. She had meant a lot to him when she would wake him up with a bright smile that lit up her whole face. She was brilliant and no one else was better suited to be the female head of the clan.

His whole family—clan, really—had died when he was six years old. His mother had tried her best as a doctor, but she could find no cure. Of course, Itachi had been alive, but he Sasuke didn't know where he was nowadays. The two brothers were the only ones spared because they were the only ones in their generation.

No matter how hard Sasuke had looked, no one had really been able to take her place.

In the background, Hinata sneezed once more. Naruto asked if she was catching a cold, but the young woman denied it.

"It's either keep my Sharingans and never really see again or keep my regular ones and most likely be demoted in ranks," the Uchiha muttered to himself. The other three watched, all feeling slightly sorry for his situation.

"Can you do the operation if I tell you my decision right before it?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes." Sasuke copied her action, though he didn't know it of course.

"I'll tell you then."

End of Flashback

The girl shifted in her cushioned chair, still bothered with the unknown. Hinata couldn't help but wonder which decision he made. She shook her head and closed her book, eye brows furrowed.

"Why should I care?" she asked herself softly. There was no answer of course, so she walked over to her empty bed. "It's not as if his decision impacts my own life..."

_If he chooses his normal eyes, that's great then, right? He'd be able to see and everything else like that. He could probably still have a job with the SHINOBI...maybe gathering information? _But just like Sakura—and everyone else—she had an inner conscience.

_Who the hell are you kidding? If he got cornered, he'd be dead meat. Sure, he could handle the weak ones, but what about the strong ones on those A rank missions Neji-nii-san talks about? Yeah, he'd definitely die._

Hinata took a break from her somber thoughts and turned over on her side. She picked at a random piece of lint on her down comforter. Speaking of Neji, Hinata hadn't seen him for more than a few seconds when he rarely came home during the wee hours of the morning. Whenever Neji did come home, it wasn't for more than two hours.

She felt very obligated to pay him back for everything he was doing to look for Kiba. It wasn't long though, before her thoughts returned to another certain callous SHINOBI.

_But what about if he picks his Sharingans?_, she thought anxiously. _He'd still be one of the best fighters around, but he wouldn't be able to enjoy the things regular people enjoy._

Hinata had to ponder about that last thought. Was he really a regular person? After a while, she came to her own conclusion.

_Yes. There's no reason he can't be normal..._ Hinata frowned a little at herself for thinking so much about someone who wasn't even hers. But she couldn't help more thoughts from seeping into her mind.

_He'll never see me...just the outline._

Hinata slapped her cheek lightly. What was she thinking? This was no time to be selfish! Sasuke was the one who was under the knife at the moment, so he should be thinking the selfish thoughts.

The Hyuga girl curled up into a tight ball. If she didn't care, then why did she hurt so much? Her eyes shut and her nose scrunched up slightly.

Hinata knew she wasn't in love, but she didn't know what the feeling she had was. Sasuke was special to her but she didn't feel like she wanted to be his girlfriend or anything like that. She relaxed her body and slowly opened her eyes. All this thinking was getting her in a bad mood, and that's not the kind she wanted to be in when Sasuke returned.

The girl sighed. Perhaps she'd figure it out at a less...crucial time. _And besides_, she thought,_ I'll know my feelings when the time comes._ Hinata smiled at her renewed mood.

She sat up and looked around, a pleasant smile on her face. Her attention turned to her cell phone on the bedside table. It vibrated and emitted a tone which signified a text message had just been received. Hinata leaned over, picked it up, and flipped it open. Her eyes widened when she saw what the message contained.

* * *

Sasuke groaned in his sleep. Alright, the wrappings on his head were starting to get annoying. It had been a week since his operation and he still wasn't allowed to take them off. But today was the day he had been waiting for—July twenty-third. It was the day he would finally get them off! Needless to say, he was slightly ecstatic.

His conscience was telling him there was something else special about today. But since Sasuke didn't remember, it was obviously not _that_ important. He stirred as someone opened his door and the smell of jasmine and vanilla subtly floated in the air.

"Happy birthday, Sasuke-kun." The Uchiha's eyebrows furrowed immediately. _Today's my birthday._

Hinata walked over to the chair near Sasuke's bed. She figured it was okay to call him Sasuke-KUN since it was a special day. And well, it seemed to befit the happy mood. The girl sat down, a small present on her lap.

"Uh, thanks," Sasuke replied articulately. He wasn't used to getting bid a happy birthday so nicely, so he wasn't sure as to what he should say in return. The young man sat up against his fluffed pillows.

"H-Here you go," Hinata said, putting the gift on Sasuke's lap, "I know it isn't much but I hope it'll do."

Sasuke fingered the thin wrapping paper and ripped it open. He felt the plastic and the cardboard and cleared his throat. "What is it?" Hinata stared at the present, instead of Sasuke.

"They're new bindings for your arms. I know you've been training...and I noticed that your old ones were getting tattered...," the girl said quietly. Hinata bit her lip unconsciously. "I know it's not the best but I hope it'll help–."

"It's fine," Sasuke interrupted, with nice intentions. "You gave me the early present with...this operation. It's enough."

Sasuke seemed content as he held the package in hand, and Hinata smiled warmly. No one could ever temporarily replace Kiba as her best friend, but Sasuke was starting to make a new place in Hinata's heart as another close friend. Besides, from the news she got in that text, she had to keep it that way.

That's exactly what Hinata was thinking about as she watched Sakura slowly unwrap the bandages. Her heart was beating heavily—for some reason, she was nervous for Sasuke. Naruto was sitting next to her in a chair, leaning against the wall, completely relaxed. Each time the bandages unwound in a full circle, it seemed as if Sakura was going slower just to spite Hinata.

In truth, the doctor was going faster. She couldn't wait to see the result of her perfect work. Sakura almost giggled. Of course, it helped when you had a perfect specimen.

After what seemed like an eternity, the wrappings all fell away and so did the gauze. Sasuke's milky skin was revealed and so were his dark lashes. His eyelids stayed close for a few seconds, then slowly opened. Hinata's eyes widened as well and her hand slowly traveled to her mouth.

Sasuke's eyes were red—redder than anything the three had ever seen before. The Hyuga closed her eyes on instinct. It was as if she was Perseus and he was a strapping Medusa.

"Well, hope you like your Sharingans," Naruto remarked, crossing his arms. Sakura smiled and nodded.

"I did my best and I do believe that job was the best that could be done nowadays," she offered. Sasuke gave a nod of gruff gratitude, but waited for someone else to say something. "Hinata-chan, what do you think?" Sakura asked.

What did Hinata think? She could barely look her dark-haired friend in the eye! She needed to be able to though. "They're certainly, um, they seem like they could do damage." She cringed at her own response.

* * *

I saw Hinata—well, Hinata's form—cringe slightly, and I stayed silent. Wow. The word "saw" is in a whole different light now. Sakura finished checking me up and she was the one who broke the silence in the room.

"Well, come on, Hinata-chan. We have to go finalize everything," she said. Hinata nodded and followed the doctor wordlessly out the door. All that left me with was with that Uzumaki nitwit.

"I can't believe you chose your Sharingans," he said, in an almost pitying tone. I furrowed my eyebrows at him—_and_ his strange chakra pattern. Wait a minute...chakra...?

"And why is it so hard to believe? I'm part of SHINOBI so I obviously need these to fight," I said to him easily. "There's nothing else that really matters to me but being the best."

That dobe stayed as silent as if he didn't believe me. I scowled at him and I saw the guy shrug indifferently. "I'm just sayin': If I were you, I would've taken the other choice."

"What the hell are you getting at?"

"Don't worry! I'm not after Hinata-chan in that way," Naruto cried, putting his hands up and laughing. "I got my eyes set on another fine lady, so the coast is clear for you."

I was utterly disgusted and turned my head away. What the hell did he think of me? That I had feelings for Hinata? Sorry, but I think _he's_ the one who needs to get his head checked.

"Anyway, since you can't see Sakura-chan or Hinata-chan for yourself, I'll help you," Naruto declared, chipper as can be. I shook my head, wanting to decline.

"Look, I don't want–."

"Sakura-chan is, oh, five foot six and she has pink hair and these amazing green eyes. She can either be icy or sweet in the way she acts, but when she gets mad her angry face scares me," Naruto started. I gave a long-suffering sigh and decided to just let him keep talking.

"She's a size three in pants; nice ass; her bust is–."

"Okay," I interrupted. "I don't want to hear anything else about Sakura. Her hands are enough for me to know." I refused the urge to shudder as Naruto laughed once more.

"Hinata-chan has violet-ish hair and these cool pearly eyes. She's like, five foot five, and _she's_ more of a size five...but that doesn't stop her from being adorable! More like, it adds on," Nartuo mumbled to himself. I stared at him, dead-panned, but let him go, hoping that he would lose his steam.

"I haven't been around her as much as Sakura, so I haven't really examined her enough to find out her bust..."

"That's enough," I said. Naruto laughed, walked over, and clapped me on the back. While I was the athletic type that was slim, he was the kind that was like a defensive linebacker.

"You know I'm just kidding about their busts right? I really respect the ladies," heclarified apologetically. I grunted and he sighed. "Yeah, well, I guess we have to take you back to Paradise to work on your people skills still."

My eyes widened at the thought of that place. I still didn't like that place very much. That Yamanaka girl was always swooning over me while that lazy bastard of a mailman would make her angry. Granted, I haven't been there in a week, but still, it was my hell on earth.

The door opened and I saw Sakura and Hinata step back in. Haha. Saw. I love that word. Anyway, they stepped in and Hinata grabbed her things. Sakura was the one who did the talking though. "Sasuke-kun, you can go back home now."

Home. There was one word I wasn't sure of. I haven't had a real one since I was small, so why was she telling me I could go home? I didn't say anything though, and stood up.

"Thanks again," I muttered, and nodded to her. A strange light showed around her, and my eyebrows furrowed again. This was new. I never used to see auras—or moods, which ever that light would turn out to be—before.

"No problem!" Sakura said happily. Her voice confirmed my thoughts. I could see both types of light.

"Think about what I said, Sasuke-chan," Naruto joked. I walked out of the room, glaring at him with all my might.

Walking back to the Hyuga mansion was—for lack of a better word—weird. No, I found another word: Awkward.

Hinata was walking beside me and it was the first time I've walked down a sidewalk without her leading me. But I guess she wasn't so used to that idea yet because whenever there was a white crack in my black sidewalk, she'd automatically reach for my arm. Of course, she'd retract her arm as soon as she was aware of what she was doing. I'd turn my eyes to her but she'd continue walking.

"So...how are they?" she asked me. Finally one of us was talking...even if it was after ten minutes. Hinata had her license but she always liked walking better. She said it was healthier.

"They're fine," I replied matter-of-factly. I glanced down at my black side walk. "The sky is red and everything else is pretty much black. People are outlined with a color...objects are outlined with grey." That's pretty much all I had to say. I glanced at the passing cars and nodded.

"I-I'm glad they worked out for you," Hinata said to me. I suppose she was trying to sound happy, but something didn't sound right.

I didn't press it though, as she left me to train in Neji's outdoor training center. That guy was so rich he could afford one indoors, too. I was sitting on a log, wrapping my arms with the new wraps Hinata had bought me. As I sat there I couldn't help but think about that timid girl.

She always did things for me, even though I hardly did anything for her. Truth be told, she's become one of my closest friends. She's grown on me—terribly. The medics, I'll grudgingly admit, are the other people closest to being friends as well, but that's it.

From the first day, Hinata's been there to take care of me. She must've been a little scared at whether or not I'd hurt her that night I woke up but she still took a chance to reach out for me. She didn't judge me or even ask me about my past. She waits. I notice she does that a lot. Hinata patiently waits for anything, as long as it's important. And sometimes, even if its not.

And that laugh of hers. I hardly ever hear it straight out. She must put a hand to her mouth to muffle it so that the true sound is halted. At times, she wants to laugh at my own antics, I can tell. Hinata holds it in though and I'm grateful for that.

I punched a wrapped tree trunk. The wood gave me the splintered satisfaction of a job well done. Some things were just so easy to figure out. This time I kicked the tattered trunk. And while some things were easy, others were harder.

For example, there was that Tanabata thing. Where did I get the balls to get her that fish, make that stupid wish, and say strange words to her? My excuse was that I needed to pay her back. But what was my excuse for her friend, Shino, taking her to play games? I didn't have one, therefor, I was confused. And why did I feel like I got punched in the gut—though, a happier feeling—when she laughed out loud?

Of course, as my friend, Hinata deserves happiness, and that's why I wished that one wish. There couldn't be any other reason.

And the fact that she has feelings for Naruto doesn't bother me at all. Not one bit. I mean, she must feel sorry for him. That's probably _her_ reason. Who am I kidding? Naruto is probably the type of guy Hinata has always been looking for. A strapping, blonde haired, blue eyed nurse. I frowned as I spun and elbowed the tree. Hinata wasn't shallow.

Naruto was probably benevolent in many ways. He probably never gave up or got into a depressed mode. He was, apparently, one to always smile and cheer her up. He was practically the opposite of me.

I tripped on the root of a real tree. The trunk I had been punching was already cut and put into the ground. I sighed, leaned against one of the trunks, and looked at my hands. I couldn't even see my own mood, aura, whatever.

What was wrong with me? I had worked up a light sweat just doing those little punches and kicks. I was actually exploring my feelings. And I _knew_ what I was avoiding...what feeling I was trying to figure out. I bitterly grumbled to myself, got up, and dusted myself off. I don't care what Sakura says. Her drugs are evil.

They were evil because I now knew how to confirm what my feelings were for my caretaker. Fine, I didn't love her. Hell, I didn't even know how that felt. But if I'm finding myself somehow..._attracted_...to a girl I can't even see, I have a way.

I just need Hinata to do me a small favor, if she doesn't mind.

* * *

Sasuke stood outside Hinata's door, deciding whether or not he should go through with his plan. If she said no, he'd make a fool of himself. If she said yes...well, he'd worry about that later. For now he had to muster enough wit to knock on her door.

"Oh, hello, Sasuke-san," Hinata greeted in a slightly surprised voice, opening the door before he did anything, "Is there something I can do for you?"

Sasuke faltered slightly while Hinata innocently leaned on her doorframe. _Now's your chance_, he thought, _ask her now!_

"Yeah...can I talk to you?"

"Sure," Hinata replied easily, moving out of the way. Sasuke stepped in and looked around.

All she had was a bed, a bedside table, and a desk with the appropriate accessories. The closet she had covered the whole wall facing her bed. The doors were full mirrors which slid to open. "Go ahead and sit."

Sasuke saw her put what he was sure was a cell phone, away on the bedside table. The lamp was on, but it didn't really affect his sight.

"Hinata..."

The girl stopped, realizing he hadn't attached any other name. She turned to him and nodded, wondering what was so important that he would simply call her by first name. Sasuke was staring out what looked like an open window at the half-moon.

"I have a really big favor to ask you and if you don't want to do it, I understand."

Hinata gulped slightly, waiting for him to continue. She walked over to the bed, sat, and Sasuke copied her actions. He was silent for some time and all Hinata could do was look at him.

His red eyes were cast downwards in deep contemplation. Though a man-made light was on in her room, the moon couldn't help but cast its ethereal light on Sasuke's face. His hair was almost a complete contrast to his skin and—at closer inspection—seemed to have grown just a little. Hinata's pearl eyes slowly traveled past Sasuke's torso and onto his hands, which were curled in his lap. They were beaten up slightly, but her wrappings had saved his knuckles from certain death.

Hinata returned her gaze to his face, and saw that Sasuke's eyes were locked with hers. A blush quickly danced its way across her cheeks. The whole time she had been subtly memorizing him, he was doing the same...in his own twisted way.

Just her aura made Sasuke feel a little better about life. It was a light, azure glow which pulsated every now and then. When it wasn't doing that, it would calmly ripple in place. Her figure seemed soft—and Sasuke figured out what Naruto was talking about. Sakura's body was like a model's while Hinata's was more full. Sasuke suddenly wanted to see more than black from her face. He finally understood why Naruto had admonished him earlier.

"Wh-What is it, Sasuke-san?"

Oh, what the hell. Both of them were in the moment, so why not just go ahead and freaking jump in? It was Sasuke's turn to gulp.

"Hinata, I need you...," he started, unconsciously being drawn forward, "To..." The rest of his question was lost as his face continued to near Hinata's. _Come on, you dummy, you're forgetting the question!_

Hinata's lips were parted slightly as she watched Sasuke's face close in on her's. His eyes had a dreamy, half-liddedlook about them and she couldn't help but feel the same. She didn't stop him as his lips stopped a centimeter away from her own. Sasuke didn't need to see where they were—he could feel it.

_Just once, God, and I promise I won't ever do it again,_ he thought, _I just need to find out what in the world this feeling is..._

Hinata's eyes gently closed as she waited for what she knew was inevitable. Sasuke was going to kiss her—and she was going to let him. The rebellious side of her wanted to know what would happen if he did. The logical part was berating her.

_Why would he suddenly come up to your room and try to kiss you? There's something fishy about this! Don't forget you have something important happening toni—!_

The girl didn't listen though. She was waiting for Sasuke. But someone wasn't waiting for either of them to make a move.

Her door slowly clicked open, and the two snapped apart. They stared at each other, wide-eyed, as if they had been snapped out of hypnotism. What was wrong with them? Then Hinata finally remembered. _He_ was coming tonight.

Both of their heads turned to the tall figure standing in her doorway.He steppedinside, and Hinata gulped for the second time that night. There was no way she and Sasuke would ever find out what their feelings were for each other. The newcomer would make sure of it—even though he didn't know it.

His aqua eyes regarded the scene calmly; coldly. His hair also had grown a little since Hinata had last seen him in person. The maroon locks had a spikier appeal to them. His arms were crossed while his feet were shoulder-width apart. He looked at Hinata and smiled ever so slightly. It was small, but even Sasuke could tell it was there.

"Hinata."

Sasuke frowned. Who the hell was _this_ guy? And how did he know Hinata? The girl in question, smiled, not even giving away what had went on only a mere seconds ago, though the guilt was too heavy to bear.

"Gaara-san, I'm glad you came," she said. She went over and bowed to him while he shook his head slightly at her self-condescending action.

"Who's this?" Gaara asked, his voice slightly conversational, which was odd for him—unless Hinata had missed _a lot_. Hinata turned to Sasuke and smiled. The Uchiha had the same question in his mind.

"U-Um, Gaara-san, this is the guy I've been telling you about... Uchiha Sasuke," she stammered only slightly. The red-head turned his cold eyes to the person sitting on the bed while that person did the same.

"Sasuke-san," Hinata continued painfully, "This is Subaku Gaara...my fiancee."

The Uchiha stood up and nodded. Acting out of character, he walked over and offered his hand for a shake. Gaara stared at it for a second, before taking it in his own. Hinata watched, guiltily, as the war began.

Hinata's cell phone lay open, sitting on its side, on her table. The screen wasn't lit but the contents were still there from when she last read them before Sasuke came in.

'Fr: Gaara (07/16)  
I'm coming to Konoha in a week. I'll see you then.'

* * *

Author's Note: First off: I'M SORRY! I couldn't help myself and I made this chapter "romantic crap." But I have an explanation for their feelings. If you think they have really fallen in love, please think again. I speak from experience. This has happened to me before (the whole confused over whether or not you like your good friend), and I was DISTRESSED. Anyway, long story short, I figured out that I DID NOT like him. We're still friends, but that's all it will ever be. But if everyone hates what I've done in this chapter, I can always turn this to a "General" fic so that Hinata and Sasuke don't get together lol (if you guys back up my thoughts that this chapter sucks).

And yes, **Audriel**. I am indeed a female. What would you have done if I said I wasn't? Hahaha. Thanks for bidding me a happy birthday! And unfortunately, **Hokai Amplifier**, Sakura had to touch him again. You've never seen Sasuke chuckle, **kenshinlover2002**? Well, I think have, and it's a funny sight to behold! **Search and Seek and Destroy**, um, sorry to say I can't understand your request... Er, you want less time between chapters and say that "Its really not something an 18 year old should be doing." I'm not sure what you're referring to, so if you could clarify that, I'd appreciate it. I can't really consider your request unless you clear that up. Sorry!

For everyone else, thanks for reading! And PLEASE review! I'll work on the next chapter as soon as I can! Bweheheh...that red-headed hottie, Gaara, has finally come into the picture.

(By the way, if anyone wants to ever chat, don't hesitate to **email me!** I'd be happy to chat! There's a lot more I want to say, but isn't a place for author's notes...)


	8. A Day With

Enptisu: HEY GUYS! Wow, I'm SO HAPPY! Phew, that really is a mood-booster for me. Thanks SO MUCH, you guys! I'm sorry for not being quick with updates, read my bio for an excuse. As always, responses and whatnot are at the end... (I had a dream Kiba saved me from certain death hahahah).

Warnings: Hm... Language and suggestive themes? I think. Well, to me it's not really _that_ suggestive, but just in case . . .

Claim: My plot.

Chapter Eight  
A Day With . . .

Again, he woke up alone and in the dark. Kiba was getting really sick of the whole "hostage" routine. He had lost track of how long he had been a captive at a week. He lost hope of counting—what was the point if no one was coming?

Surprisingly enough though, Kidoumaru hadn't visited him in around two days. Kiba was guessing it was two days—sometimes he fell asleep during the day? and lost track of time even more. Tayuya was the one who had been grudgingly giving him his mediocre meals, and even though she was more harsh than the spider, she was more fun to annoy. Sure, she hurt a lot, but sometimes it was almost worth it to hear her cry of frustration.

All Kiba had to do was give a (as bloody as it may be) haughty grin and the girl was already too annoyed.

Sometimes the musician and he would talk. Mostly they were empty threats or snide come-backs, but there were times when the two were on the dancing on a line of civility. Of course, those times didn't last long and the conversations weren't that important. They would talk about the food or perhaps the lack of light in the room.

Then, Tayuya would suddenly remember what she was doing, and throw something at him. That, or she would hurt him in some other way. Kiba snorted at her immaturity. It wasn't _his_ fault she was losing track of her so-called "duty."

He had learned she was eighteen and had been working for her master for around nine years. She hated almost everything and cussed way too much (for a girl at least). Tayuya knew how to play the flute, obviously, but she had never played it for or to Kiba. Inuzuka was glad—he didn't really want to die just yet, no matter what he said or thought.

His door was hastily opened and Kiba winced at the light which stomped in. Tayuya slammed his tray onto his lap, unlocked his restraints, and sat her butt down in her own metal chair. Kiba rubbed his sore wrists and aimed an annoyed glance the young woman's way.

"What the hell's got your panties in a bunch today?" he asked her, grimacing at the horrible victuals. Obviously, they were leftovers of someone's steak and mashed potatoes. Kiba wasn't going to complain more though.

"Shut up and eat your damn food!" the musician spat at him. She crossed her arms and legs and shot a deadly glare to the wall. Kiba chewed at the beef and put the crooked fork down. Tayuya only sat like a girl when she was really pissed.

"Alright, your choice," he said shrugging. Kiba had a plan . . . one that always worked.

"You wanna know?" Tayuya shouted, throwing her hands up into the air. Kiba shrugged indifferently. His casual indifference would always throw her off.

"We were supposed to kill off your little girlfriend, right? Obviously we screwed up," she started, glaring at him. Kiba glared right back at the mention of Hinata. "And now that we've been trying to erase our tracks—you know, that damn Hyuga Neji has been on our asses—a certain bastard has decided to make a comeback!"

Kiba almost laughed. One thing about Tayuya that amused him was the fact that she could ramble on and on without losing her breath. He kept a straight face though.

"No shit, Neji's on your asses," Kiba muttered, ignoring a death glare, "He's in the ANBU unit of SHINOBI."

"Thanks for telling me, mutt, like I didn't know," Tayuya replied, sarcasm dripping off of every syllable. Kiba shoveled some mashed potatoes into his mouth and, after a while, swallowed.

"Who's the bastard that came back?" he asked her, taking a swig of water and chewing some more steak. The young woman rammed her foot into the ground.

"That damn Uchiha Sasuke!" she raged. Kiba's countenance was taken over with surprise.

"You mean the blind one?" he asked of her. When the red-head nodded, he returned his gaze back to the cracked plate and tray on his lap in wonder.

"He had a stupid operation done," the flutist muttered darkly. She flicked a bug off of her forearm. "He had a choice between normal eyes or those damn Sharingan and which do you think he chose?"

"The normal ones?"

"No, you idiot, he chose the Sharingan!" Tayuya stood up. The action made her chair fall back and lie pitifully on the cold floor.

". . . And that's a bad thing because . . .?"

"Because _now_ he can fight against us, you dumb-ass!" she cried, pacing around the room. Her chest was heaving in anger and her fists were clenched in annoyance.

"Hmph," Kiba simply answered, finishing off his little dinner with a slight smirk. "That's what villains get."

"Oh, shut up," Tayuya voiced, rounding around to him. "It's all your fault we were held up!"

Kiba knew she was lying. It was _their_ fault that he was here. All he was trying to do was celebrate turning nineteen with his buddies . . . He didn't tell them to attack, did he? Kiba kept quiet though, and watched as Tayuya leaned against a wall.

"You guys fought him before so why're you pussying out now?" he asked sarcastically. Hinata wasn't here at the moment so he had no reason to watch his slang or language. Tayuya threw an abandoned chicken bone at him in annoyance, but he caught it in his teeth.

"I a wutt, wewember?" Kiba reminded her, gesturing to the bone between his feral canines and winking. Tayuya had called him that so many times, he wondered how she could forget.

"Shut up!" she said, leaning her head back on the wall, frustrated but used to his antics. She closed her eyes as if waiting for death, and slid down to sit on the floor. "Orochimaru-sama thinks it's our fault that they're on our tails . . . And I'm not surprised if he'll kill us. He still has one other . . ."

Dog-boy raised a confused eyebrow as Tayuya trailed off, completely swept off to another world. He shook his head and set the now-empty tray down at his feet and yawned, very much resembling a dog.

_Whatever_, he thought. _It's not my problem whether or not they die . . ._

Kiba watched Tayuya, casually observing her. There wasn't really anything wrong with her physically speaking—at least for now. Her eyes were fierce and intense while her face was clearly defined. She was a little skinny, but he could handle that. There was a time when the red-head had threatened going to her second level, whatever that was. He had a feeling it wouldn't look pretty.

He reprimanded her choice of clothes though. The whole "tomboy" thing was working for her, and that wasn't necessarily a good thing. But with her wise-cracks and quick temper, she was amusing to have around.

And he never minded if a girl got a little rough.

The Inuzuka youth shook his head. _I must have been here longer than I thought. I'm startin' to get desperate._

Tayuya snorted to herself as she walked behind him and smoothly whipped out something that looked like silk. The silk fell over his eyes and he smirked. "Gettin' a little kinky, eh, Ta — "

He was cut off as the knot the red-head was preparing was tied tightly. Kiba frowned at her painful actions and stood up at the queue of her hands. His own wrists were bound together, once again, with harsh rope. Kiba squirmed a little, testing the flexibility of his restraints.

"Now, this is a little _too_ rough, don't you think?"

He grunted, then grimaced, when Tayuya adjusted the rope even tighter. The girl sighed and rubbed the spot between her eyebrows. "Orochimaru-sama wants to see you."

Kiba smirked in his pitch black night. "I can't wait to see the big honcho."

"You should use all the time you have to keep away from him, idiot . . ."

Tayuya said this so quietly—almost mentally— that even Kiba didn't hear her.

* * *

He wrinkled up his nose in utter disgust. The place smelled of grotesque herbs or plants of some sort. If Kiba didn't know better, he would've thought that whoever was in this room was trying to make some sort of fertilizer.

He grunted as he was pushed to his knees, head forced to face the floor. This Organ guy really had some type of superiority issue. The blindfold was easily torn off his face—which was a wonder in its self because Tayuya had tied it so tight—and Kiba slowly brought his mahogany eyes upward.

Long, sleek, ink black hair was falling over the leader's shoulders in a graceful mass. The man was pale, with high cheekbones and an interesting choice of make-up. A (no doubt) sadistic smirk was playing at his lips while he sat in his would-be throne. _How does a metro sexual guy like this get all this power!_

Before Orochimaru spoke, Kiba looked around the strange room. The windows behind the Ormand-something guy were covered in red tapestries, all of which had the look of being somewhat old but important. The whole of the room had no real furniture, save the leader's chair, and the walls were covered in red and green cloth. There were some places where fire was burning in wide goblets of sorts, illuminating the room.

_What the hell kind of circus did I get captured by?_

"So, this is the little pup," Orochimaru mockingly said, the smirk still on his features. Kiba wisely decided to keep his mouth shut for once. He hadn't had time to evaluate the snake-guy yet so he was going to let that 'pup' remark slide.

"Yeah, what do you want?" Kiba asked the head honcho. Orochimaru didn't let _that_ little remark bother him.

"I hope you know we're going to kill you're little girlfriend," he said. It was so blunt that it pierced through the Inuzuka's senses. He stared up at the man and lunged at him. He was restrained by Tayuya and the spider guy.

"What the fuck did you just say!" Kiba fiercely growled, struggling against his humanoid restraints. The two guards did nothing but acknowledge his strength with tightened lips. Orochimaru seemed to derive joy from the young man's anger.

"I think you heard perfectly well what I said, pup," the older man replied easily, ignoring frustrated grunts coming from the feral young man. "With the Uchiha clan gone, the Hyuga is the last remaining prominent family of Konoha."

Kiba couldn't believe what he was hearing. This guy was a total psycho! "Why the hell would you kill Hinata?"

"Oh, don't worry, it's nothing personal," the serpentine adult drawled, still staring at him with a smirk. "We'll kill everyone in the clan, not just her."

"But what does it matter if they're a prominent clan, or whatever shit you're spewing?"

The bodyguards looked at each other, knowing that this question was an important one. Tayuya figured that the only reason Orochimaru would even tell Kiba the reason was because he'd want the young man killed shortly after. She heard him growl from deep in his throat and realized that this Hinata girl must be someone very important to him.

"Since you're likely to die soon after this,"–yes, she was right–"I'll tell you. To make my glorious comeback as the most powerful person in Konoha, I have to eliminate anyone that poses a threat. If I take out the Hyuga now, SHINOBI won't be too much of a hassle."

Kiba stared up at the person who just finished talking. How could someone be so cruel? He had absolutely no regard for human life, just his own empty one. Orochimaru didn't seem to have a problem with that though, and he waved a hand, bored.

"Since he's out-stayed his purpose, take him away, Tayuya," the black haired boss said. The red-headed woman nodded, picking on what he wanted even before he said it: "Do what you please to make him quiet."

"Get your hands the hell off me!" Kiba shouted, writhing against his restraints. He wanted to kill the bastard in charge but a little part of him, the sensible part, was still awake. With just talking to the man, Kiba knew the maniac had untapped power. He could just feel it permeating in the room so thickly that it was like he could see it.

Kidoumaru threw him in the little cell and Tayuya solidly shut the door behind her, ignoring his own little sadistic glint. She stared down at the rabid boy as she almost easily cuffed his hands. She blew out a breath, eyebrows furrowed in contemplation. How had Kidoumaru's play-thing become her own burden?

He sat on his little-bitty chair, obviously furious with the news he had just been given. His fangs were bared and there was a dangerous spark in his mahogany eyes. The fact that his face was dirty from neglect wasn't helping him look any more benevolent.

"Shut up already, will you?" Tayuya demanded, rubbing the spot between her eyebrows. The stress was starting to get to her a headache was marching its way into her brain. "There's nothing you can do about your girlfriend right now, so be quiet!"

"What the hell would you know? You've probably never cared about anyone else but yourself!" Kiba snapped at her, face scrunching up. She didn't know why, but Tayuya's fist found its way across his cheek.

"I _said_, shut your trap," she said, detaining the reason for her physical outburst. "It's giving me a damn headache, mutt."

The aforementioned 'mutt' stared at Tayuya in a dazed wonder. So _had_ she cared about someone before? A snigger almost escaped his throat at the thought. It was just so hilarious that it couldn't simply be possible. Tayuya and feelings didn't coexist. It was like himself in a pink, fluffy tutu—wrong!

"Come on, damn it, we're going somewhere," the feisty girl said, walking toward him. Kiba was about to demand where it was that they were going, but she simply stuffed an unpleasantly dirty rag into his mouth. "Didn't I tell you to shut the hell up? Now come on."

Kiba stared at the place in front of him. Warm, seductive steam slunk along on top of the placid water and to his right, amongst the boulders and rocks was a make-shift waterfall depositing more liquid into the pool. Of all the places she would take him, a hot spring! His rage was momentarily forgotten as his eyes peeked at the young woman to his right, giving her a very odd yet suggestive look. She punched him in the shoulder at the only strength level she knew—hard.

"Ow!"

"Don't get any stupid ideas, mutt, you haven't had a bath in two weeks!" The woman was furious now, but it wasn't a bad anger. "You smell like shit."

Kiba smirked as he watched her release him. He pulled his tattered gi off of his body and shrugged. "Whatever you say." He laughed as she became suddenly shy while he was pulling off his hakama and earned a shove into the hot water.

"Bitch!"

"Bastard."

"I have a father, thank you."

"And I don't have any kids, so shut up."

Kiba rolled his eyes and submerged his head in the pool before coming back up for air. For a fleeting moment he forgot about everything but how good it felt to soak in a hot spring. He wanted to wash his hair but he had a feeling that would be too much torment for the little musician.

"Hey, Tayuya." She opened her formerly closed eyes and grunted.

"What?"

"How 'bout you join me?" The young woman stared at him.

"How 'bout you kiss my ass?"

"Bend over and I'll see what I can do."

Tayuya threw a left-over shampoo bottle which hit the chortling Inuzuka squarely in the head. He rubbed the sore spot and flipped her off, immediately ducking as she threw the last bottle his way. She wanted to kill him. She _should_ kill him, she really should. Keeping him around meant she had her own live punching bag though, so she resisted the very strong urge.

The red-head watched as the brunette waded through the water. He looked like an absolute canine retrieving a thrown stick for his owner. The peaceful moment was ruined the instant he removed his doused hakama and undergarments to throw them to the side of the spa. Tayuya put her face in her hands and how disgusting the whole thing was. Though, she should be used to it since she lived with three other men.

"How long have I been here?" asked Kiba, doing a simple backstroke and staring up at the wooden ceiling. The woman was silent a long while before she answered, probably trying to weigh her pros and cons of answering.

"About two weeks," she grunted. Tayuya crossed her arms and stared at the man in the water. "What does it matter? You're not gonna see any of your friends again, anyways."

The young man gave her a disbelieving look and rested his crossed arms on some rocks facing her, and his chin rested there. "Whatever. Just don't cry your eyes out when they come for me. I'll visit you in jail."

Tayuya took this insult by showing him the bird. Kiba let out a barking laugh and played around a bit more before hoisting himself out of the water. Tayuya didn't look away this time—she wouldn't show weakness to him again. Instead of letting her dark eyes wander around, she kept them above his waist.

After she did some background check on the stupid mutt, she found out he was one of the most important players on the football and wrestling teams. He was quite the social butterfly, having won the title of Prom King, but his best friend was still the timid Hyuga Hinata. Though she'd rather stick her flute down her own throat than admit it, she had to grudgingly acknowledge that sports helped out Kiba's dripping wet physique.

_Ungh. Just thinking that made me lurch_ the young woman thought. The subject of her thoughts gave her a strange look since her saw her odd countenance.

"What's a matter? Too much for ya?" he jibed, tying his gi. Unfortunately for the both of them it was the only piece of his clothing that was dry. The young woman grimaced and rolled her eyes. She untied one of her many layers and threw it at him.

"Put some clothes on will you? It'll help the both of us," Tayuya growled, turning away. She heard his laughing and looked back to see he just finished tying the piece of cloth.

As they walked out the room, Kiba's eyes went to the floor. Unintentionally, on their way back up, they stopped on a certain young woman in front of him. He stared appreciatively and noticed how her discarded cloth revealed a new layer. Her red eyebrow twitched irritably at the itching feeling on her back.

"Stop staring at my ass, bastard!"

With that said, she whirled around and punched him in the chest. Kiba wheezed for a second, a whimsical smirk on his face, and watched her retreating back. Oh yes. He'd get that bitch back.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you all for reading and please don't forget to review this chapter! I really appreciate it. All flames will be used to make Orochimaru dance like a little clown. Hopefully you guys liked this little dose of Kiba. I miss him too. Sorry I didn't respond to everyone but here they are:

**Audriel** Thanks for the suggestion! I might just use it, if I have time. Well, I finally understood what "Y!M" was, lol, and I just added you so we can chat now if you want:)

**wolf-enzeru**: Honestly, your review scared me a little at first. When I skimmed it I saw capitals and I thought it would be my first FLAME! Lol, thank goodness it wasn't.

**NarutosGirl52**: Yeah, she was going to kiss Sasuke and she already has a fiancee but she's just a confused little girl. Sad, but supposedly emotions can do that.

"**Random person"**: Thanks for catching the little mistake!

**Search and Seek and Destroy**: OH, now I get it! Lol, it's okay! Thanks for liking it. But, I never said it wasn't still going to be SasuHina... Oops. Shutting mouth now.

**Hokai Amplifier**: Who knows if they'll end up together in the end? Oh, wait! I do! Lol, jk. Don't worry though, just go with the ride.

**PinkyMcCoversong**: Sorry you don't like the twist. :( It's okay though, I understand. Just know that Gaara's going to have some skeletons in the closet as well... Hope you keep reading!

**insanely-normal**: Wow, thanks a lot! Haha, I love your Milk and Cookies fic.

**kazezero**: Thanks for the compliment! Hope you liked this chapter! I can't tell you if Sasuke will ever get his whole sight back, that would ruin the whole story. Lol. Don't worry I'll answer those questions soon, but not in a review. It'll be in a chapter so that it's even more interesting.

"**noname"**: Thanks for your review, now I'll answer you questions accordingly.

1. Honestly, I happen to like the smell of vanilla and lavender, since I have powder of that scent, and think it'd be something nice to match Hinata. I don't know about the other authors who use something to that effect but maybe they feel the same way.

2. I'm actually not uber-obsessed with anime/manga. I just happen to like it a lot. : Um, I get my inspiration from real life or movies or stupid little dreams I have. Possibly some books as well.

3. Anything to ask my readers/reviewers? Ehh, not really, lol. Oh, here's one. Where do all of you writers get your own inspiration? I lost it for a long while but now it's only a little bit back.

Anyways, thanks for reading and please review! Happy New Years, all!


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